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From  the  Library  of 
BENNEHAN CAMERON 

1854-1925 

Presented  by 
his  daughters 

Isabel  C.  Van  Lennep 

and 

Sally  C.  Labouisse 


10003058539 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS  IN  WONDERLAND 


BOOKS  BY 
JOSEPHINE  SCRIBNER  GATES 

The  Story  of  Live  Dolls 

More  About  Live  Dolls 

The  Story  of  the  Lost  Doll 

The  Story  of  the  Three  Dolls 

The  Live  Dolls'  House  Party 

The  Little  Red   White  and  Blue 

The  Live  Dolls'  Busy  Days 

The  Live  Dolls'  Play  Days 

The  April  Fool  Doll 
The  Live  Dolls'  Party  Days 

Sunshine  Annie 
The  Live  Dolls  in  Fairyland 

All  Illustrated  by 
VIRGINIA   KEEP 

$1.25  Each 


"Pray    toll    me    who   are    you?" 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS  IN 
WONDERLAND 


By 

JOSEPHINE 

SCRIBNER  GATES 


WITH   ILLUSTRATIONS    BY 

Virginia  Keep 


INDIANAPOLIS 

THE  BOBBS-MERRILL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


Copyright  1912 
The  Bobbs-Merrill  Company 


PRESS     OF 

BRAUNWORTH    &    CO. 

BOOKBINDERS    AND    PRINTERS 

BROOKLYN,    N.    Y. 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS  IN  WONDERLAND 


TO 

The  wee  Live  Doll  who  lately  danced  into 
grandim other's  heart "out  of  the  every- 
where into  here."  j.  s.  g. 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS  IN 
WONDERLAND 


CHAPTER  I 

WHAT  do  you  s'pose  the  Live 
Dollies  did  next  ? 
Sucli  a  fine  thing,  and  it  was 
such  a  joke  on  them  for  they  didn't  know 
a  word  about  it  till  they  had  done  it! 

l 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Simply  because  they  were  sound  asleep 
at  the  time! 

They  went  to  sea  in  the  queerest  little 
boats  you  ever  saw! 

Of  course,  you  know  the  story  of  "The 
three  wise  men  of  Gotham,  who  went  to 
sea  in  a  bowl,"  and  you  know  they 
weren't  so  wise  after  all,  because  their 
boat  was  so  frail  their  story  was  hardly 
worth  telling. 

Now  our  Live  Dolls  knew  better  than 
to  go  to  sea  in  bowls.  They  chose  such 
strong  boats  and  such  queer  ones,  I  doubt 
if  the  red  book  can  hold  all  the  story,  but 
we  are  going  to  do  our  best  to  crowd  it  in, 
and  so  we'll  begin. 

Once  upon  a  time  the  Live  Dolls  and 

2 


IN  WONDERLAND 

their  mothers  spent  a  summer  at  the  sea- 
shore. 

One  morning  as  they  were  rolling  about 
on  the  sand,  watching  the  waves  creep- 
ing toward  them,  they  heard  afar  off  the 
whirring  of  an  automobile.  As  it  came 
nearer,  they  saw  it  held  a  very  strange 
load. 

"What  are  they?"  cried  Janie,  as  she 
ran  to  meet  the  car  piled  high  with  some 
sort  of  wooden  things. 

"They  look  like  wooden  shoes,"  said 
Lucile.  "The  one  on  top  is  rocking  as 
though  something  were  in  it." 

"Listen!  It's  the  trumpet,  and  there 
she  is!     Oh,  the  dear  precious  Queen!" 

And  there  she  was,  snugly  hidden  away 

3 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

in  one  of  the  wooden  shoes,  such  as  every 
child  in  Holland  clumps  around  in. 

Up  popped  her  head,  showing  such 
dancing  mischievous  eyes  as  you  never 
saw! 

The  children  shouted  for  joy,  for  they 
well  knew  what  it  meant  to  have  the 
Queen  with  them  again. 

"What  have  you  in  the  car4?"  they 
cried,  after  giving  her  the  usual  warm 
welcome.  "Are  they  shoes  for  us  to 
wear'?" 

"Indeed  not!"  laughed  the  Queen. 
"They  are  boats  made  of  wood.  They 
are  exactly  like  the  shoes  the  Holland 
children  wear.     A  strong  rope  is  attached 

4 


IN  WONDERLAND 

to  each  one  and  they  will  sail  just  like 
real  boats.     Come  and  try  them." 

In  great  excitement  the  children  drew 
the  boats  to  the  water's  edge,  and  in  a 
twinkling  the  blue  surface  was  dotted 
with  the  wee  shoes. 

"Let  the  dolls  get  in!  They  will  just 
fit!"  cried  Janie. 

The  boats  were  drawn  ashore,  the  dol- 
lies tumbled  into  them,  and  away  they 
went,  dancing  about  in  the  greatest  glee 
on  the  tumbling  waves. 

"What  fun!"  cried  Rosabell,  "I  wish 
they  would  let  go  of  the  ropes;  then  we 
could  have  a  long,  long  ride." 

"You  all  scare  me  stiff!"  cried  Dinah. 

5 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Don'  nobody  dast  let  go  no  rope  on  my 
boat!" 

The  children  shouted  with  laughter  at 
Dinah,  who  looked  like  a  scared  chicken. 

"Don't  be  afraid,  we  won't  let  you  go," 
said  the  Queen.  "I  think  you  can  have 
great  fun  with  your  boats.  This  is  such 
a  beautiful  place  to  sail  them." 

And  indeed  it  was  a  glorious  place,  not 
only  to  sail  boats,  but  to  play. 

The  beach  was  hard  and  smooth;  the 
water  blue  as  the  sky,  with  just  enough 
suds  on  its  surface  to  make  it  a  bit  excit- 
ing as  the  waves  curled  about  the  chil- 
dren's bare  feet. 

Each  day  seemed  to  bring  something 
new,  and  this  boat-day  was  best  of  all. 

6 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Even  Dinah  came  to  love  the  boats,  and 
she  and  Topsy  had  great  sport;  one  seated 
in  the  heel,  the  other  in  the  toe  of  one  boat, 
sailing  about  like  Egyptian  queens. 

"Heel,  toe,  and  away  we  go!"  sang 
Dinah  one  day  as  they  lazily  floated  on 
the  placid  blue. 

"I  just  been  wishin'  I  could  find  a 
prominent  place  for  the  summer.  Now 
I'se  got  it!" 

"Goosie!  you  mean  permanent,"  said 
Topsy. 

"It  don't  make  no  diff'runce  which  I 
mean.  I'se  got  'em  bof  now,  and  I'se  goin' 
to  keep  'em,  an'  live  on  the  water  all  sum- 
mer. 

This  she  almost  did,  as  you  will  see. 

7 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Let's  have  a  picnic,"  cried  Janie,  one 
morning.  "We'll  get  frosted  raisin  cakes 
and  currant  buns.  Take  our  umbrellas 
and  sweaters  and  stay  as  late  as  we 
want  to." 

And  so  presently  there  appeared  a  troop 
of  girls  and  Live  Dolls,  each  armed  with 
basket,  sweater  and  umbrella. 

Away  they  went,  drawing  their  beloved 
boats  across  meadows  and  through  the 
pine  woods,  till  they  found  a  dear  little 
sandy  beach. 

Here  the  girls  tied  the  boats  securely 
together,  and  leaving  the  dolls  to  guard 
them,  they  went  in  search  of  a  spring. 

"Let's  climb  into  the  boats,"  suggested 
8 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Dinah.  "Come,  Topsy,  let's  pretend 
we  are  going  on  a  journey." 

In  a  moment  they  were  in  their  heel  and 
toe  seats,  while  the  other  dolls  sought 
their  favorite  boats. 

"Oh!"  cried  Rosabell.  "Let's  play 
they  are  house-boats.  Lots  of  people  live 
in  them.  Let's  pretend  it's  night  and 
time  to  go  to  bed.  The  lunch  baskets  can 
be  our  cupboards.  When  we  get  up  we'll 
have  breakfast." 

And  so  presently  Dinah  and  Topsy, 
curled  up  in  their  shoe  boat,  were  no 
longer  pretending,  but  were  really  and 
truly  going  on  a  journey,  for  the  water  be- 
gan to  creep  about  the  little  boats,  slowly 

9 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

and  surely,  till  suddenly  they  were  all 
afloat. 

Neither  did  their  companions  have  to 
pretend  sleep,  for  as  the  strange  little 
boats  drifted  on  and  on,  rocking  so  gently, 
the  dollies  drifted  with  them  of!  into 
dreamland,  while  the  water  sang  a  lul- 
laby. Oh,  such  a  beautiful  drowsy  tune 
as  you  never  heard ! 

By  and  by  a  silvery  bird  sailed  across 
the  sky,  spied  the  boats,  darted  down  and 
hovered  just  above  them. 

Then  he  settled  on  one  and  gazed  curi- 
ously at  the  tiny  black  faces  pillowed  on 
fat  cushioned  arms. 

Next  he  caught  sight  of  the  basket,  and 
10 


IN  WONDERLAND 

with  his  bill  pulled  off  the  paper  napkins. 
His  beady  eyes  glistened  as  he  saw  the 
raisin  cookies.  He  tweaked  one  from  its 
snowy  bed,  then  turned  to  the  brown  bun, 
from  which  a  plump  currant  poked  its 
head. 

He  gobbled  that  up  just  as  Dinah  and 
Topsy  wakened  and  stared  in  amazement 
at  their  silvery  guest. 

Then  they  raised  their  heads  and  looked 
about  them. 

All  they  could  see  was  water,  while  the 
waves  gently  lapped  the  little  boat. 

'lTopsy,"  cried  Dinah  in  alarm,  "where 
are  we"?  And  where  did  that  beautiful 
bird  come  from4?" 

11 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"I  dunno."  replied  Topsy.  "Looks  like 
you  wuz  gettin'  your  wish,  a  prominent 
and  permanent  place  on  the  water. 

"Dose  other  dolls  seems  to  be  fast 
asleep.     I  wish  this  bird  could  talk." 

"Oh!"  cried  Dinah,  excitedly,  "I  have 
the  wand  the  Queen  gave  me  once.  You 
'member  I  lost  it  when  the  bears  came  to 
life.  I  found  it  and  stuck  it  in  my  bosom. 
It  will  make  a  Live  Doll  of  the  bird.  I 
think  that  would  be  fun.  Perhaps  it  can 
then  tell  us  where  we  are." 

Out  came  the  magic  wand,  and  as  it 
flashed  in  the  sunlight  the  bird  was  trans- 
formed into  a  beautiful  doll  gowned  in 
shimmering  silvery  gauze. 

It  still  perched  on  the  front  of  the  shoe 

12 


IN  WONDERLAND 

and  cocked  its  head  with  such  a  puzzled 
expression,  the  dolls  laughed  aloud. 

At  this  sound  a  head  appeared  at  the 
top  of  each  little  shoe  boat,  while  a  chorus 
of  voices  shouted,  "Where  are  we,  and 
where  did  that  lovely  doll  come  from?" 

"I'm  not  a  doll,"  replied  Silver  Bird. 
"I  am  a  bird  and  as  I  was  sailing  high  up 
in  the  air,  I  saw  these  queer  little  boats 
all  in  a  clump.  So  I  came  down  to  ex- 
amine them. 

"Then  I  saw  the  basket  and  I  peeped 
under  the  cover  and  saw  some  funny  white 
mounds  with  big  fat  bugs  sticking  their 
heads  out.  I  ate  one.  Next  I  saw  some 
brown  stones  with  little  fat  bugs  sticking 
their  heads  out,  and  I  ate  one  of  them.     I 

13 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

hope  you  won't  mind.  I  am  fond  of  all 
kinds  of  bugs  but  I  never  ate  any  quite 
like  these. 

"You  are  all  so  small  I  s'pose  you  are 
a  race  of  dwarfs.  Do  you  eat  creatures 
in  your  food,  and  are  they  alive  when  you 
put  them  in?" 

The  dolls  laughed  heartily  at  this 
speech,  and  Dinah  hastened  to  explain. 

"They  aren't  bugs  at  all.  The  big  ones 
we  call  raisins;  the  small  ones  are  cur- 
rants. You  may  eat  lunch  with  us  if  you 
like;  we  are  all  hungry." 

Out  came  the  baskets,  which  were  soon 
emptied.  As  the  last  crumb  vanished 
Silver  Bird  asked  how  they  happened  to 
be  out  on  the  water  all  alone. 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"We  don't  know,"  replied  Rosabell. 

"We  are  Live  Dolls  and  we  went  to 
sleep  in  the  boats  on  the  shore.  Our 
mothers  left  us  there  while  they  went  to 
get  a  drink  from  Sparkling  Spring. 

"How  do  you  think  we  came  here?" 

"The  tide  came  up,  of  course.  They 
were  very  careless  to  leave  the  boats  so 
near  the  shore. 

"How  came  you  to  be  able  to  turn  me 
into  a  dolP?" 

"Oh,"  cried  Dinah,  "I  have  the  wand. 
I  can  turn  you  back  and  forth  just  easy 
as  pie. 

"Isn't  the  wind  getting  awful  windy?" 
she  asked  suddenly  as  the  boats  began  to 
rock  vigorously. 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"It  is,  indeed!"  said  Silver  Bird. 

"But  what  can  we  do?"  cried  Rosabell 
in  alarm. 

"Do  as  I  tell  you  and  you  will  be  per- 
fectly safe.  Raise  your  umbrellas  and 
hold  them  back  of  you.  The  wind  will 
carry  you  safe  to  an  island.  See  that  black 
speck  over  there?" 

Overjoyed  at  the  thought  of  landing, 
the  dollies  obeyed,  and  as  Silver  Bird  said, 
the  tiny  craft  scudded  across  the  water 
while  the  speck  grew  larger  and  larger 
till — "Why,  here  we  are!"  all  chorused, 
as  a  big  wave  sent  the  boats  high  and  dry 
on  the  land. 

"Let's  tie  them  to  this  log  and  I  will 
show  you  about,"  said  Silver  Bird.     "No 

16 


IN  WONDERLAND 

one  knows  of  this  place0  I  wish  we  could 
get  around  without  having  them  see  us." 

"We  can,"  cried  Rosabell,  "I  have  my 
wand  that  makes  us  invisible." 

She  drew  it  forth  in  breathless  eager- 
ness, waved  it  on  high,  and  in  a  moment 
the  little  band  was  turned  into  airy  noth- 
ingness. 

"Fine!"  exclaimed  Silver  Bird.  "Now 
we  can  go  about  comfortably  and  see  all 
we  want  to  and  disturb  no  one." 

They  followed  Silver  Bird  over  the 
rocks,  till  finally  from  the  top  of  a  very 
high  one  there  was  disclosed  to  them  what 
seemed  to  be  a  tiny  village. 

Such  queer  little  houses  and  narrow 
streets  they  had  never  seen. 

17 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"See  if  you  can  tell  what  village  it  is," 
said  Silver  Bird,  as  they  hastened  on. 

"What  a  funny  old  woman  that  is 
standing  in  front  of  the  biggest  house  of 
all!  See  her  high-pointed  hat  and  queer 
red  gown!"  cried  Rosabell  excitedly. 

"Oh,  and  look  at  her  funny  shoes;  they 
curl  up  like  skates!" 

"Look  at  that  funny  man!  He's  steal- 
ing meat  from  the  butcher  shop!" 

"And  see  the  little  boy  wheeling  a  girl 
in  a  wheelbarrow!" 

"And  there's  another  boy  eating  pump- 
kin, and  he's  got  a  girl  in  the  other  half 
of  it!" 

These  exclamations  came  from  the  vari- 
18 


IN  WONDERLAND 

ous  dolls  as  the  scenes  described  appeared 
before  them. 

"Look  in  this  window,"  said  Silver 
Bird. 

They  peered  in,  to  see  a  King  busily 
counting  his  money. 

Peeping  into  the  kitchen,  they  beheld 
the  Queen  in  her  gorgeous  robes,  gobbling 
up  bread  and  honey  as  fast  as  she  could. 

In  the  garden  was  a  maid  hanging  out 
clothes,  when  suddenly  there  flew  above 
her  a  blackbird. 

At  this  sight  Dinah  screamed  so  loud 
that  the  bird  swerved  and  flew  away. 

"Along  came  a  blackbird  and  tweaked 
off   her   nose,"    cried   Rosabell,    "but   he 

19 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

didn't  quite.  She  can  thank  Dinah  that 
she  still  owns  a  nose." 

"What  is  that  verse  from?" 

"I  know,"  cried  Topsy,  "it's  from 
Mother  Goose. 

"That's  who  it  was  we  saw  first.  She 
lives  in  that  house,  and  these  are  her  peo- 
ple.    What  fun!" 

"You  are  right,"  said  Silver  Bird. 

"Look  in  this  house  and  you  will  see 
'Old  King  Cole,  the  merry  old  soul.' 

"Over  the  way  is  the  Baker  man  who 
pat-a-cakes  all  day  long. 

"In  that  hen-coop  yonder  is  'The  black 
Hen  who  lays  eggs  for  gentlemen.' 

"Listen  to  the  'Ding  dong  bell,'  and  see 
'Tommy  Green  and  Tommy  Trout.' 

20 


IN  WONDERLAND 

'What  a  naughty  boy  was  that  to  try 
and  kill  poor  pussy-cat!'  : 

"Let's  help  get  it  out!" 

They  all  paused  beside  the  well.  Silver 
Bird  whispered  to  Dinah  to  turn  him  into 
a  bird,  then  down  he  fluttered,  soon  to 
appear  with  pussy-cat  in  his  beak. 

He  gently  placed  her  on  the  ground, 
and  away  she  trotted  as  contentedly  as 
though  she  had  never  seen  a  well. 

The  boys  seemed  much  surprised  at  the 
sight  of  Silver  Bird,  and  more  so  when  he 
disappeared  so  suddenly  as  he  wandered 
on  with  the  dolls. 

"What's  that  funny  boy  all  dressed  in 
green,  and  what's  he  picking''?"  asked 
Topsy. 

21 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"I  know!  It's  'Peter  Piper  picking  a 
peck  of  pickled  peppers,'  :'  shouted  Rosa- 
bell. 

"There's  Tommy  Tucker  and  Jack 
Horner  in  a  corner  having  a  party  with 
their  bread  and  butter  and  Christmas 
pie. 

"Here  comes  'Simple  Simon  watching 
for  the  pieman.'  " 

"Look  over  in  that  meadow!"  cried 
Rosabell.  "There's  a  little  fellow  all 
dressed  in  blue,  fast  asleep  by  the 
haycock.  Can  it  be  Little  Boy  Blue4?  I 
didn't  really  believe  he  would  sleep  at  his 
post ! 

"What's  dat  nigga  doin"?"  cried  Dinah, 
as  Topsy  jumped  over  the  fence,  ran  to  the 

22 


IN  WONDERLAND 

little  blue  boy,  seized  his  horn  and  blew  a 
terrific  blast. 

The  little  fellow  sprang  to  his  feet, 
gazed  around  him  in  wonder,  then  sighed, 
"I  dreamed  it.  The  cows  aren't  in  the 
corn  at  all!"  Then  he  lay  down  for 
another  nap,  while  our  little  band  went 
merrily  on  its  way  toward  a  high,  high 
hill. 


CHAPTER  II 

SUDDENLY  they  shouted  with 
laughter.  Who  could  help  it*? 
For  there  were  Jack  and  Jill  tum- 
bling down-hill  with  the  water  pouring  in 
floods  all  over  them. 

"I'm  goin'  to  find  out  the  truth  about 

^4 


IN  WONDERLAND 

this,"  cried  Dinah,  as  she  hastened  to  the 
foot  of  the  hill. 

"Did  you  really  break  your  crown,  Mr. 
Jack4?"  she  asked  timidly. 

With  a  roguish  look.  Jack  nodded  his 
head  and  held  up  a  gilded  paper  crown 
all  crushed  and  broken. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  "but  I've  bushels  of 
them.  I  don't  mind.  Indeed,  we  think 
it's  fun,  don't  we,  Jill?  Now  tell  me, 
are  you  a  person  or  just  a  voice?" 

"Oh,"  laughed  Dinah,  "I  forgot!  I'm  a 
voice  now  but  I  can  be  a  person  at  the 
same  time,  too." 

She  motioned  to  Rosabell,  who  twirled 
her  wand,  and  Jack  and  Jill  gazed  in 
astonishment  at  the  black  vision. 

2? 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Where  did  you  come  from?"  they 
cried  in  chorus. 

"Oh,  from  far  away.  Now  you  see  me, 
and  now  you  don't.  Good-by,  and 
thank  you  for  telling  me  the  truth  about 
your  crown." 

Away  went  Dinah  and  her  companions, 
leaving  Jack  and  Jill  to  climb  the  hill, 
wondering  much  over  what  they  had  seen. 

"See  that  little  girl  carrying  a  crook!" 
cried  Silver  Bird.  "She  seems  quite 
downcast. 

"Do  you  see  why5?  The  sheep  follow- 
ing her  are  bleating  piteously.  They 
have  no  tails.  See  them  tumbling  over 
one  another,  and  dear,  dear,  there  are  the 
tails  all  hanging  out  on  that  bush  to  dry! 

26 


"  I  )ii|    von    realh    break    vour    crown,    Mr.     luck?" 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Make  me  into  a  bird  and  I'll  get  all 
the  tails  and  tie  them  on  with  sweet 
grass." 

And  so  presently  the  bleating  ceased. 
Bo-Peep  and  the  sheep  went  happily  on 
their  way,  while  our  little  band  ran  after 
a  sleek  pussy-cat. 

:  'Pussy-cat,  pussy-cat,  where  have  you 
been"?':'  cried  Rosabell,  with  twinkling 
eyes. 

To  her  astonishment  came  the  answer 
quick  as  a  wink: 

"I've  been  to  London  to  visit  the 
Queen." 

"Did  you  truly  frighten  a  mouse  under 
her  chair?" 

"Indeed  I  did,  and  she  invited  me  to 

^7 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

come  often,  and  fed  me  milk  out  of  a  gold 
saucer." 

This  dialogue  was  interrupted  by  shrill 
wails  from  children. 

"Look  over  this  fence,"  cried  Silver 
Bird.  "It's  the  'Old  Woman  who  lived 
in  her  shoe  and  had  so  many  children  she 
didn't  know  what  to  do.' 

"Poor  little  babies,  let's  take  her  whip 
from  her  with  the  wand." 

The  wand  flashed,  the  whip  disappeared, 
while  the  old  woman  gazed  in  astonish- 
ment at  her  empty  upraised  hand,  then  at 
the  weeping  tots. 

"Give  them  some  bread 
And  kiss  them  instead." 

sang  Silver  Bird  in  shrill  tones. 

28 


IN  WONDERLAND 

The  old  woman's  face  lighted  up,  and 
wonderingly  she  obeyed. 

The  sobs  turned  to  laughter  and  when 
the  babes  had  eaten  every  crumb  they 
snuggled  down  into  the  shoe,  and  our  little 
band  left  them  asleep. 

"Shows  what  kindness  can  do,"  said 
Silver  Bird.  "They  will  never  cry  again 
because  she  can  never  find  her  stick,  and 
she  won't  use  any  other." 

"Can't  she  use  her  hand"?"  asked  Topsy. 

"Mercy,  no!  She  would  never  think  of 
that!" 

"Look  in  this  doorway,  there's  Polly 
Flinders.  I  want  to  talk  to  her  and  her 
mother,  too." 

The  dollies  listened  as  the  mother  came 
29 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

forward  to  whip  her  little  daughter  for 
spoiling  her  nice  new  clothes. 

"Don't!"  came  to  their  ears  in  silvery 
tones.     "Don't  whip  her!" 

In  astonishment  the  mother  looked  in 
vain  for  the  owner  of  the  voice  as  she  re- 
plied in  distress: 

"But  see!  Her  best  Sunday  go-to- 
meeting  dress  and  her  blue  socks  and  her 
slippers,  all  brand-new!" 

"Yes,  but  did  you  ever  have  awful  cold 
feet?  If  you  did,  you  didn't  care  for  any- 
thing till  they  were  warm." 

Then  to  Polly  Flinders  Silver  Bird  said 
gravely,  "You  really  should  be  more 
careful.     Don't  get  so  close  to  the  nre  next 

30 


IN  WONDERLAND 

time  for  I  can't  always  be  around  to  warn 
you. 

Polly  Flinders  drew  her  chair  away, 
pulling  her  little  skirts  close  about  her. 
She  perked  out  the  broad  blue  bows,  while 
the  dollies  raced  on  down  the  street. 

'Hey  diddle  diddle,  the  cat  and  the 
fiddle,'  "  sang  Silver  Bird,  as  these  per- 
sonages now  appeared. 

"See  the  cow  jumping  over  the  moon, 
and,  oh,  do  hear  that  cunning  curly  dog 
laugh,  and  there  goes  the  dish  waving  the 
spoon  high  in  the  air!" 

"Oh!"  cried  Rosabell,  turning  from  this 
fascinating  scene,  "see  the  old  woman 
sweeping  the  cobwebs  from  the  sky!     She 

31 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

doesn't  know  it,  but  she  must  have  the 
very  first  flying-machine  that  ever  was." 

"Who's  this  old  woman  with  the  thin, 
thin  dog  following  her4?" 

"It's  Mother  Hubbard.  I  hope  she'll 
find  a  bone  in  her  cupboard,"  cried  Dinah, 
much  troubled  over  the  poor  starved  dog. 

"She  will,"  said  Silver  Bird.  "I  always 
s'prise  her  with  one  when  I  visit  this  place. 

"Hark  to  that  song!" 

All  paused  and  listened  to  hear,  chanted 
in  sweet  tones: 

"If  all  the  world  were  apple-pie, 
And  all  the  sea  were  ink, 
And  all  the  trees  were  bread  and  cheese, 
What  would  we  have  for  drink?" 

"Now  peep  through  these  holes  in  the 
32 


IN  WONDERLAND 

wall,"  whispered  Silver  Bird,  as  the  music 
ceased. 

Each  dolly  peeped,  and  cried  excitedly: 

"Oh!  Oh!  See  the  apple-pies  spinning 
like  tops,  all  around  the  edge  of  that  black 
sea.  And  see  what's  growing  on  those 
trees.  Loaves  of  bread  and  cheese-cakes! 
Isn't  that  the  queerest  garden  you  ever 
saw4?" 

"It  is,  indeed,"  replied  Silver  Bird. 
"Let's  go  in  and  taste  some  of  their 
goodies!" 

As  he  spoke  he  pulled  a  rope;  a 
bell  sounded  "ding-dong — ding-dong." 
Slowly  a  great  gate  opened.  They  en- 
tered and  the  gate  clanked  and  closed  be- 
hind them. 

33 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Those  pies  look  pretty  fine,"  said 
Dinah.  "Do  you  s'pose  they  are  as  flaky 
as  mine?" 

"You  know,"  laughed  Silver  Bird,  "  'the 
proof  of  the  pudding  is  in  the  eating  of 
it.'  Try  them;  you  are  welcome  to  all 
you  can  eat." 

The  dollies  hastened  to  accept  this  gen- 
erous invitation,  for  they  were  growing 
quite  hungry. 

"Perfectly  elegant!"  cried  Dinah.  "And 
may  we  taste  the  bread  and  cheese'?" 

In  reply  Silver  Bird  picked  the  strange 
fruit  from  the  low  branches  and  tossed 
them  into  the  upraised  hands. 

"I'm  thirsty,"  said  Topsy.  "Must  we 
drink  ink?" 

34 


IN  WONDERLAND 

''Indeed  not,"  replied  Silver  Bird. 
"That  tiny  lake  is  the  most  delicious  berry 
juice  you  ever  tasted.  The  keeper  thinks 
it  is  ink  and  sells  it  for  that." 

As  he  talked,  Silver  Bird  taught  them 
how  to  fold  a  leaf  into  the  shape  of  a  cup 
so  they  all  made  cups  and  found  the  drink 
most  refreshing. 

"Now  come  this  way  and  see  the  Ten 
Little  Indians  you  have  read  about." 

The  dollies  followed  their  leader  and 
found  the  ten  little  men  standing  like  sol- 
diers, disappearing  as  by  magic,  just  as  the 
poem  said;  then  on  they  went  to  find  what 
more  was  in  store  for  them. 

"Oh,  look  up  there  on  the  branch  of 
that  tree!"  cried  Rosabell. 

35 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

''There's  a  cradle,  and  oh !  I  see  a  baby's 
head  sticking  up.  Is  that  poor  little 
Rockaby  Baby  waiting  for  the  wind  to 
blow  and  the  bough  to  break T' 

'Yes,"  said  Silver  Bird,  "and  I  don't 
believe  she  will  drop,  for  the  bough  won't 
break  again." 

As  he  talked  he  skilfully  fastened  a  sec- 
ond branch  to  the  one  on  which  the  cradle 
rested.  This  he  bound  securely  with  a 
strong  vine,  and  away  they  all  went  glad 
in  the  thought  that  the  line,  "Down  comes 
baby,  cradle  and  all,"  would  never  again 
be  true,  and  baby  could  swing  in  her  cradle 
bed  to  her  heart's  content. 

"Mercy!  mercy!"  screamed  Dinah  sud- 
denly,  "here  come  the  three  blind  mice, 

36 


IN  WONDERLAND 

and  not  a  chair  to  stand  on !  I'm  skeered 
to  death  of  'em!"  and  she  gathered  up  her 
skirts  and  pranced  around  in  the  greatest 
distress. 

At  once  the  skirts  of  all  the  dollies  were 
gathered  up,  while  Silver  Bird  threw  back 
his  head  and  shouted  with  laughter. 

''They  can't  hurt  you.  They  are  dear 
little  soft  cushiony  creatures.  Come  to 
that  stone  wall,"  he  cried. 

They  followed  and  scrambled  up,  only 
to  find  themselves  all  in  a  heap  in  a  mo- 
ment. 

"That's  no  stone  wall,"  said  Rosabell. 
"That  must  be  the  one  made  from  pie 
crust.  It  is,  for  see,  the  windows  are  made 
of  black  puddings  and  white." 

37 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"And  slated  with  pancakes,  you  ne'er 
saw  the  like,"  cried  Topsy,  who  had  slyly 
nibbled. 

"Mayn't  we  eat  a  window  pane, 
please?" 

"Why  certainly,  help  yourselves,"  re- 
plied King  Boggen,  the  owner  of  this 
Pancake-Pie-Crust-Black-and-White-Pud- 
ding  Palace.  I'm  sorry  I  have  no  sirup, 
but  since  I  can  not  see  you,  you  may  be 
only  voices,  and  voices  do  not  need  to  eat 
sirup." 

The  dolls  giggled  as  they  helped  them- 
selves to  windows  and  walls,  and  again 
hastened  on  their  way. 

"Here's  the  Oueen  of  Hearts,  baking 
tarts.     I  think  she  won't  mind  if  we  take 

38 


IN  WONDERLAND 

one,  since  the  King  steals  them  anyway," 
said  Silver  Bird. 

''Oh,  here's  Ladybug,  Ladybug,  flying 
away.  Let's  follow  her  and  see  if  her 
little  house  is  really  burning  up  with  the 
children  in  it!"  cried  Topsy. 

Away  they  all  scampered  up-hill  and 
down  to  find  presently  the  tiny  house  just 
beginning  to  flame. 

Silver  Bird  ran  to  a  near-by  spring  and 
was  back  in  a  twinkling,  carrying  a  leaf 
cup  brimful  of  water  which  soon  quenched 
the  fire. 

As  Ladybug  gratefully  snuggled  her 
babies  and  wondered  what  put  out  the 
fire,  the  dollies  hurried  on  to  see — what 
do  you  s'pose? 

39 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  five  little 
pigs!  One,  bravely  starting  off  to  mar- 
ket, waved  a  good-by  kiss  to  the  little  wife 
pig  who  stayed  at  home  and  cooked  the 
roast  beef  for  the  little  pig  who  ate  it. 

The  dollies  peeped  into  the  window  to 
see  the  little  pig  who  had  none  standing 
by,  watching  wistfully  to  see  if  by  any 
chance  he  might  get  a  wee  morsel. 

"Why  did  he  have  none1?"  asked  Rosa- 
bell. 

"Because  he  wasn't  willing  to  work  to 
get  it. 

"See,  coming  down  the  street,  the  wee 
one  crying  'cause  it  can't  find  its  way 
home.  Its  eyes  are  so  full  of  tears  it 
doesn't   even   see   it   is   running   straight 

40 


IN  WONDERLAND 

there.  Now  the  mother  hears.  See,  she 
is  going  to  meet  it." 

A  rollicking  shout  filled  the  air  as  the 
wee  pig  ran  straight  into  its  mother's 
arms. 

"Who's  this  racing  up  the  street?"  cried 
Rosabell,  as  a  tiny  girl  ran  swiftly  past 
them. 

"Oh,  that's  only  Miss  MufTet  running 
away  from  the  spider  who  sat  down  beside 
her.  He  wasn't  going  to  hurt  her.  He 
only  wanted  to  see  what  she  was  eating. 
When  he  found  it  was  curds  and  whey, 
he  went  away  because  he  didn't  care  for 
them. 

"Just  for  a  moment  look  through  this 
fence  at  Contrary  Mary  and  her  cockle- 

41 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

shells  and  silver  bells.  See  the  shy  pretty 
maids  in  their  spring  bonnets. 

"Now,"  continued  Silver  Bird,  "here  we 
are  back  to  our  boats.     Shall  we  go  on?" 

"Where  to?"  asked  Rosabell.  "And 
won't  our  mothers  be  troubled  about  us?" 

"Make  yourselves  visible  and  comfort- 
able, while  Dinah  changes  me  into  a  bird 
once  more.  I'll  sail  across  the  sky  in  a 
jiffy  and  tell  you  all  about  them." 

And  in  a  moment  he  spread  his  silvery 
wings  and  flew  away,  only  to  return 
shortly  with  the  news  that  their  mothers 
were  seated  about  the  spring  chattering 
like  magpies. 

"They  think  you  are  still  guarding  the 
boats,  and  you  may  as  well  go  on  with  me. 

4^ 


IN  WONDERLAND 

I'll  keep  watch  of  them  and  get  a  message 
to  them  somehow  when  they  learn  that 
you  have  sailed  away." 

The  dollies  joyfully  climbed  into  their 
boats,  and  on  they  went  across  the  blue 
water,  eager  to  see  the  wonders  of  the  next 
island. 


CHAPTER  III 

AS  they  scudded  along  over  the  rip- 
pling waves,  Silver  Bird  perched 
on  the  toe  of  one  shoe  after 
another,  preening  his  feathers,  cocking  his 
head  this  way  and  that,  tilting  the  urn- 

44 


IN  WONDERLAND 

brellas  at  just  the  right  angle  till  land 
again  hove  in  sight. 

Then  he  flew  straight  to  Dinah,  stand- 
ing before  her  in  such  a  very  funny  pose 
that  she  and  Topsy  bubbled  over  with 
laughter. 

"'He  wants  to  be  a  doll  again  so  he  can 
tell  me  something,"  cried  Dinah,  waving 
her  wand. 

"Of  course  I  do,"  cried  the  silvery  boy 
doll,  bowing  politely.  "We  are  coming 
to  the  island,  and  I  want  to  tell  you  about 
it. 

"It  is  called  Story  Island.  See  if  you 
can  guess  the  stories  when  you  see  the 
people. 

"We  won't  be  invisible  this  time.  We 
45 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

shall  have  more  fun,  I  think,  to  see  and 
be  seen." 

As  before,  a  wave  carried  the  little  boats 
ashore.  The  dolls  jumped  from  them, 
tied  them  all  securely,  then  on  they  went, 
led  by  Silver  Bird. 

"We  are  coming  to  a  deep,  dark,  cool 
woods.  I  love  it!"  cried  Rosabell. 
"What's  here  to  see4?" 

"My  dear  dolly,  don't  talk  so  loud," 
whispered  Silver  Bird.  "Follow  me  on 
tippie  toes." 

And  so  they  formed  a  procession,  tip- 
toeing along,  pausing  occasionally  to  lis- 
ten. 

Presently  Silver  Bird  stopped,  held  up 
a  tiny  finger,  pointing  ahead. 

46 


IN  WONDERLAND 

They  all  looked  to  see — what'?  Why, 
just  a  little  girl  dressed  in  a  red  coat  and 
hood,  carrying  a  basket. 

"Hide!"  whispered  Silver  Bird. 

They  jumped  behind  trees  and  stood 
as  still  as  mice  while  the  child  passed 
them,  singing  merrily  as  she  occasionally 
plucked  wild  flowers. 

"Watch!"  exclaimed  Silver  Bird  under 
his  breath,  as  a  wolf  hurried  toward  her, 
politely  bowed  and  held  out  his  hand  for 
her  basket. 

"Dear!  Dear!"  cried  Topsy,  "I  b'lieve 
my  soul  it's  dat  dar  Red  Ridin'  Hood.  I 
should  think  she'd  know  better  by  this 
time  than  to  let  him  eat  her!" 

"You  will  find  he  doesn't  eat  her,"  said 

47 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Silver  Bird.  "He's  going  another  road. 
Let's  follow  her." 

And  so  they  did,  very  quietly,  till  they 
saw  ahead  of  them  Grandmother's  house. 

Little  Red  Riding  Hood  knocked;  the 
door  opened,  and  she  entered. 

"Now  use  your  invisible  wand  and  let 
us  go  in  and  see  what  happens." 

Rosabell  hastily  waved  her  wand,  and 
the  invisible  dollies  crowded  into  a  corner 
of  the  little  house,  their  bright  eyes  watch- 
ing every  detail  of  this  interesting  per- 
formance. 

Grandmother  was  stirring  something  in 
a  huge  kettle,  from  which  issued  delicious 
fumes. 

4s 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Is  the  molasses  candy  ready  for  Mr. 
Wolf '?"  piped  Red  Riding  Hood. 

"Just  ready,"  said  Grandmother  as  she 
poured  it  into  the  dish  pan  and  set  it  on 
a  table  beside  the  bed. 

"He  came  and  knocked.  I  peeped  out 
of  the  window  to  be  sure  it  wasn't  you. 
When  I  saw  him  I  kept  perfectly  still. 
He  thought  I  had  gone  away.  So  he  lay 
down  away  over  there  by  that  tree  to  take 
his  nap. 

"Listen!  He  has  wakened,  I  hear  him 
now.     Come  under  the  bed  with  me." 

And  so  Grandmother  and  Red  Riding 
Hood  crawled  under  the  bed,  pulling  the 
covers  well  down  in  front. 

49 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

The  door  opened  slowly;  in  walked  Mr. 
Wolf. 

The  dollies  watched  breathlessly  as  he 
crept  stealthily  toward  the  bed. 

As  he  passed  the  table  he  paused,  sniffed, 
then  with  one  great  cry  he  plunged  his 
head  into  the  sticky  mass. 

His  teeth  closed  on  it,  but  would  not 
open.  With  a  howl  of  rage  away  he  went 
out  of  the  door,  crashing  through  the 
underbrush  as  he  made  his  way  to  his 
den. 

The  little  house  rang  with  laughter  as 
Grandmother  and  Red  Riding  Hood 
crawled  from  their  hiding-place. 

"He  looked  as  though  he  had  a  new 
spring  hat,"  said  Grandmother.     "He  is  so 

SO 


IN  WONDERLAND 

fond  of  sweets  he  forgets  what  happens 
when  he  tries  to  get  the  candy.  I  s'pose 
he'll  do  that  to  the  end  of  time.  Each 
time  I  walk  through  the  woods  I  find  an 
empty  pan  where  he  has  finally  shaken  it 
loose. 

"Now,  we  will  have  our  tea-party,  for 
I  surely  smell  cheese-cakes." 

As  Grandmother  set  the  table,  Silver 
Bird  and  the  Dollies  hurried  away. 

When  they  were  well  out  of  sight  Rosa- 
bell  waved  her  wand  and  they  had  a  rol- 
licking time  over  the  funny  incident. 

"What  a  good  way  to  have  it  end,"  said 
one  dolly. 

"Much  better  than  the  old  way,  I  am 
sure,"  said  Silver  Bird.     "Nowadays  we 

51 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

don't  believe  in  bad  endings  to  stories  or 
anything  else. 

"See  ahead  of  you  that  snug  little  house. 
Come  and  let  us  see  who  lives  there." 

The  dollies  walked  quietly  to  the  half 
open  door,  tapped,  listened,  but  heard  no 
sound. 

"Come  in,"  said  Silver  Bird.  "I  know 
who  lives  here,  and  since  the  door  is  open 
they  won't  care  if  we  look  about." 

They  walked  into  the  kitchen,  in  one 
corner  of  which  stood  a  tiny  stove. 

"They've  left  their  dinner  cookin'  in 
three  bowls,"  cried  Dinah,  as  she  tiptoed 
across  the  room  and  peered  into  them. 
She  sniffed  the  steam,  then  exclaimed  with 
sparkling  eyes : 

52 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Porridge  done  to  a  turn!  Shall  we 
taste  it'?" 

"Mercy  no!"  declared  Topsy,  "don't 
yo'all  know  where  you  is  now?  Look  at 
those  bowls!  There's  a  large  one,  a  mid- 
dle-sized one  and  a  weenty  teenty  one ! 

"I'm  agoin'.  In  a  moment  you'll  see 
three  bears  comin'  in  that  door.  You 
won't  hear  'em,  you'll  just  plain  see  'em!" 

"Don't  go,"  laughed  Silver  Bird. 
"They  are  all  out  for  a  walk. 

"Dinah,  you'll  fall  into  that  bowl  if  you 
don't  look  out.  Come  and  see  the  three 
chairs." 

Dinah,  who  had  climbed  on  to  a  stool 
and  was  almost  standing  on  her  head,  try- 
ing to  see  if  Silver  Hair  had  left  even  a 

53 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

drop  of  porridge  in  the  small  bowl,  could- 
n't resist  scraping  the  bottom  of  it  with 
her  finger  and  touching  it  to  her  tongue. 

"Oh,"  she  cried,  "it's  fine,  just  salty 
enough.  I  don't  blame  Silver  Hair  for 
eatin'  it  all.  I  s'pose  she  comes  every 
day  and  gobbles  it  up." 

She  turned  to  follow  her  companions, 
but  as  they  had  disappeared,  she  hesitated 
a  moment,  then  what  do  you  s'pose'?  She 
sang  softly  to  herself: 

'  'Some  like  it  hot,  some  like  it  cold,'  but 
I  don't  care  how  it  is,  I  like  it  anyhow," 
and  she  raised  the  middle-sized  bowl  and 
drank  and  drank  till  she  had  swallowed 
every  drop. 

Then  she  ran  into  the  next  room  to  find 

54 


IN  WONDERLAND 

them  all  exclaiming  over  the  three  chairs. 
The  smallest  toppled  over  on  the  broken 
leg,  looking  so  pathetic,  Rosabell  said,  'lI 
think  it's  too  bad  the  baby  bear  hasn't  any 
chair  to  sit  in.  Silver  Hair  ought  to  have 
been  more  careful!" 

"Come  up-stairs,"  cried  Silver  Bird. 
"If  she  is  there  we  shall  see  her." 

They  followed  him  up  the  winding 
stairway  into  the  room  where  the  three 
beds  were. 

They  had  to  climb  on  to  a  chair  to  see  on 
top  of  the  big  high  one,  but  no  Silver  Hair 
was  there. 

Then  they  stood  on  tiptoe  to  see  if  she 
were  on  the  middle-sized  bed — but  no 
Silver  Hair  was  there. 

55 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Then  they  walked  softly  over  to  the 
corner  where  stood  the  wee  bed. 

After  one  glance,  Rosabell  squealed 
with  delight,  for  there  she  truly  lay  look- 
ing like  a  frightened  bird. 

Her  curly  locks  were  all  over  her  face 
like  a  silver  curtain  through  which  the  on- 
lookers could  see  two  big  blue  eyes  wide 
with  fear. 

"Don't  be  afraid,"  said  Silver  Bird 
kindly,  "we  aren't  the  bears." 

"Oh,  I'm  so  glad!  I  come  every  day. 
I  get  so  hungry  for  their  good  porridge  and 
I  love  to  sit  in  the  wee  chair.  It  is  such 
fun  to  hear  it  creak  and  break.  Then 
down  I  go.  By  that  time  I'm  so  sleepy  I 
can  hardly  wait  to  try  their  beds." 

?6 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"But  why  do  you  choose  the  Little 
Bear's  things  always'?"  asked  Rosabell. 
"Don't  you  s'pose  he'd  like  them  him- 
self?" 

Silver  Hair  shouted  with  laughter  at 
this  question,  then  replied : 

"The  fact  is  the  little  bear  is  so  pleased 
because  I  like  his  the  best,  and  the  other 
two  are  alwa)'s  hoping  I'll  choose  theirs 
next  time,  they  can  hardly  wait  to  get 
home  to  find  out. 

"Of  course  they  always  give  the  wee 
bear  more  soup  and  mend  his  chair.  They 
are  cross  at  me  'cause  I  just  won't  try 
their  soup  and  chairs  and  beds. 

"I  hope  they  never  will  catch  me,  but  I 
can't  help  it  if  they  do.     I  just  won't  dis- 

57 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

appoint  the  little  fellow,  he  is  so  cun- 
ning. 

"You  are  cunning,  too.  You  look  just 
like  dolls  alive.  Do  you  belong  to  'Fairy 
tales  every  child  should  know"?" 

"Well,  I  rather  guess  we  do!"  replied 
Rosabell  proudly. 

"We've  been  alive  for  ever  so  long. 
We  sailed  across  the  ocean  to  see  your 
Story  Island. 

"Don't  you  think  we  better  be  going?" 

"Probably,  I  s'pose  it  is  nearly  time  for 
the  big  bear,  the  middle-sized  bear  and 
the  wee  bear  to  come  walking  in  that 
door." 

They  hastened  out  of  the  snug  little 
house,  and  as  they  crossed  the  dooryard 

58 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Dinah  gasped  and  pointed  up  the  road,  too 
frightened  to  speak. 

"There  they  are!"  the  dollies  cried  in 
alarm  as  they  huddled  up  close  to  Silver 
Hair,  "what  shall  we  do1"?" 

"Crawl  into  the  oven  birds'  nests," 
cried  Silver  Hair,  "while  I  curl  up  in  this 
hollow  tree.  I've  hidden  here  many 
times." 

"I  don't  go  into  no  oven  and  be  baked 
like  blackbirds  in  a  pie.  I'll  let  the  bears 
eat  me  first,"  declared  Dinah  standing 
stock-still. 

"There's  no  lire  under  them,"  laughed 
Silver  Hair.  "Look  for  a  fern  lying  fiat. 
Underneath  is  a  little  warm  nest  built  by 
the  oven  birds.     It  will  just  fit  you." 

59 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

The  dollies  each  hastened  to  seek  a  fern 
leaf  lying  flat,  and  sure  enough  under- 
neath was  a  cunning  nest  for  all  the  world 
like  an  oven.  In  a  moment  not  a  dolly 
was  to  be  seen. 

Dinah  peered  out  of  her  nest  to  see  if 
Silver  Hair  were  safe,  and  saw  a  tiny 
hand  waving  from  the  trunk  of  a  near-by 
tree. 

The  little  girl  had  wrapped  her  gray 
skirts  close  about  her,  and  really  Dinah 
could  hardly  tell  girl  from  tree  except  for 
the  mass  of  silvery  curls. 

As  Dinah  waved  a  response  to  the  sig- 
nal, suddenly  she  felt  something  move. 
She  suppressed  a  scream  as  she  saw  two 
sharp  beady  eyes  gazing  intently  at  her. 

60 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Then  to  her  great  relief  she  found  it  was 
only  a  little  baby  frog.  She  wrapped  it 
carefully  in  her  kerchief,  then  placed  it 
in  her  pocket. 

At  this  moment  she  heard  footfalls ;  first 
great  heavy  ones,  then  lighter  gentler 
ones,  then  weenty  teenty,  pitter  patter 
ones,  which  she  knew  belonged  to  the  wee 
bear. 

The  dollies  scarcely  dared  to  breathe  till 
they  heard  the  door  of  the  snug  little 
house  close,  then  out  they  danced,  and 
after  bidding  Silver  Hair  a  fond  good-by, 
thev  wandered  on. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Y,  but  that  was  exciting," 
cried  Rosabell.  "I  had  a 
good  look  at  the  bears. 
They  didn't  look  cross  a  bit.  I  believe 
they  think  it's  fun  to  go  home  and  see 
what  Silver  Hair  has  been  up  to. 

62 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"What  do  you  s'pose  that  great  long 
pole  is  lying  on  the  ground  over  there*?" 

"Can't  you  guess'?"  asked  Silver  Bird. 

"I  can,"  cried  Topsy  in  the  greatest  ex- 
citement. 

"Let  me  guess  it,"  cried  Mirandy,  "you 
never  let  me  speak  a  word.  Is  it  Jack's 
bean  stalk*?" 

"It  is  indeed,"  replied  Silver  Bird. 
"There  is  the  very  hatchet  he  used  to  cut 
it  down.  It's  so  rusty  you  would  hardly 
know  what  it  was." 

"I  see  the  house  where  the  Giant  lived," 
cried  Topsy. 

"It's  all  smashed  to  flinders.  Maybe 
we  can  find  a  gold  piece  from  the  money- 
bags." 

63 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"I  fear  not.  Jack  took  good  care  of 
that." 

"I'm  glad  it's  all  destroyed.  You  can't 
even  find  his  awful  dungeon." 

"Jack  lives  up  the  road  in  that  pretty 
white  house.  Listen  and  you  will  hear 
the  Giant's  harp." 

They  all  paused  to  hear  the  sweetest  of 
music,  then  hastened  on  eager  to  see  this 
wonderful  Jack. 

Silver  Bird  knocked  at  the  door  of  the 
white  house.  It  opened,  and  there  stood 
Jack  himself,  looking  much  astonished  at 
the  sight  of  the  dolls  huddled  together  in 
a  heap  before  him,  all  gazing  up  at  him 
with  such  round  bright  eyes  and  open 
mouths. 

64 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Oh!"  cried  Rosabell,  "are  you  the  Jack 
that  planted  the  bean  that  grew  to  a  stalk, 
and  then  to  a  house  where  the  Giant  lived 
that  you  cut  down*?" 

Everybody  shouted  at  this  query,  and 
Jack  replied  : 

"I  certainly  am.  Are  you  the  maiden 
all  forlorn  who  milked  the  cow  with  the 
crumpled  horn*?" 

"Oh,  no!  I'm  only  a  Live  Doll,  and 
these  are  my  friends. 

"We  should  like  to  know  if  your  story 
is  every  bit  true*?  Did  it  all  really  hap- 
pen  { 

"It  really  did.  Even  to  the  very  end, 
and  here  we  are,  mother  and  I,  living  hap- 
pily forever  and  ever. 

65 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Next  door  lives  my  friend,  Jack,  the 
Giant-killer." 

"Oh,  may  we  see  him,  too?  Is  he  the 
'fe,  fi,  fo,  fum'  one?" 

"The  very  one,  but  he  is  away  just  now. 
I  am  sorry  for  he  would  love  to  see  you 
and  tell  you  all  about  it. 

"Come  and  see  my  harp  and  the  bags 
of  gold  which  I  took  from  the  Giant." 

The  dollies  gazed  at  the  treasure  bags, 
and  listened  to  the  self-playing  harp,  then 
on  they  went. 

"I  s'pose  that  'fe  fi  fo  fum'  fellow  has 
gone  huntin'  more  giants,"  said  Topsy  as 
they  passed  his  queer  little  house. 

:'Yes,"    sighed   Dinah.     "Some   people 

never  know  when  they  have  enough. 

66 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Oh,  see,  up  on  that  hill,  what  a  beauti- 
ful house!" 

"Do  you  remember  Cinderella  of  glass 
slipper  fame1?  That  is  her  house  and  here 
she  comes  in  her  coach  and  four,"  said 
Silver  Bird. 

The  dollies  stood  at  the  side  of  the  road 
for  the  coach  to  pass,  but  Cinderella  had 
spied  the  tiny  people,  and  ordered  the 
coachman  to  stop  the  horses. 

She  leaned  far  out  the  window,  smiled, 
and  said  : 

"Pray  tell  me  who  are  you?  Are  you 
in  a  fairy  story  I  never  read?" 

"I  s'pect  we  are,"  said  Dinah,  timidly, 
for  she  seemed  to  be  the  one  addressed. 
"We   wuz  plain   dolls,   then   the   Queen 

67 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

made  us  alive,  and  since  then  we've  been 
about  everythin'  even  to  fairies. 

"We're  just  plain  Live  Dolls  again  now, 
and  we  came  to  see  the  fairy-story  people. 
Are  you  reely  that  little  ashes-girl4?" 

"I  truly  am,"  laughed  Cinderella. 
"Jump  in  and  you  shall  see  the  famous 
glass  slipper.  It  brought  me  such  good 
fortune  I  keep  it  in  a  gold  case." 

The  dollies'  eyes  sparkled  as  they  ac- 
cepted this  generous  invitation,  and  seated 
themselves  in  state. 

The  coach  door  closed  with  a  bang,  the 
whip  cracked,  and  away  dashed  the  ponies. 

"How  lovely!"  cried  Rosabell,  with 
clasped  hands.  "May  we  see  the  ugly 
sisters,  too*?" 

68 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  their  hostess,  "but 
they  aren't  ugly  any  more.  They  were 
sorry  for  all  that  and  are  very  dear  and 
sweet  now,  as  you  will  see. 

"I  will  also  show  you  my  treasure." 

"Have  you  a  treasured  All  fairy-story 
people  seem  to,  I  notice.  It's  mostly  a 
room  filled  with  silver  and  gold.  Some- 
times it's  jewrels.  How  I'd  love  to  sit  on  a 
heap  of  them  and  watch  them  slip  through 
my  fingers,  may  P?"  asked  Rosabell. 

"My  treasure  is  much  more  precious 
than  any  of  those  things." 

"Then  it's  just  plain  diamonds,"  cried 
Mirandy.  "They  are  the  most,  precious 
things  there  are.  I  suppose  you  ring  a 
bell,  and  when  the  man  comes  you  hand 

69 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

him  a  gold  key,  and  you  say — 'Bring  me 
a  bucket  of  diamonds,  I  want  to  do  some 
tradin  . 

A  shout  of  merry  laughter  followed 
these  droll  remarks. 

"No,"  said  Cinderella,  "it  isn't  dia- 
monds and  it  doesn't  fill  the  room  either. 
It  is  very  small  and  very  beautiful.  Here 
we  are,  and  you  will  soon  see  for  your- 
selves. 

The  ponies  stopped,  the  footman  opened 
the  coach  door,  assisted  them  all  out  with 
a  most  polite  bow,  then  led  them  up  the 
marble  steps.  He  pressed  a  button,  in- 
stantly the  crystal  door  flew  open,  and 
Cinderella  cried,  "Welcome  to  my 
home!" 

70 


IN  WONDERLAND 

'"How  beautiful!"  they  exclaimed,  as 
they  gazed  in  wonder  at  the  luxurious  car- 
pets, furniture  and  decorations. 

"Come,"  cried  Cinderella  gaily  as  she 
led  them  up  the  staircase. 

They  followed  her  up,  up,  up,  then 
through  winding  hallways,  till  finally  she 
reached  a  golden  door  which  she  opened, 
as  she  cried: 

"There's  my  treasure,  my  jewel  that  no 
money  can  buy!" 

They  crowded  into  the  room,  and  she  led 
them  to  a  cradle,  where  they  beheld — 
what? 

Why  what  would  you  expect  to  find  in 
a  cradle  but  a  baby!  A  darling  precious 
baby! 

7i 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Isn't  she  worth  more  than  any  jewel  in 
the  whole  world4?"  Cinderella  asked. 

Indeed  she  was!  A  beautiful  little 
thing  with  starry  eyes,  pink  cheeks  and 
golden  curls. 

Such  a  fat  little  dumpling  she  was  that 
they  all  begged  to  hold  her.  Cinderella 
allowed  this,  and  after  each  had  had  her 
turn,  took  them  to  see  the  glass  slipper. 

"It  doesn't  fit  any  more,"  she  said.  "I'm 
not  quite  so  tiny  as  I  was  when  I  was  an 
ash  girl. 

"Now  come  to  the  dining-room  and  let 
me  give  you  some  refreshments." 

Would  wonders  never  cease?  Think 
of  dining  with  Cinderella! 

She  seated  them  in  a  room  filled  with 
72 


IN  WONDERLAND 

the  odor  of  the  sweetest  flowers.  In  a  mo- 
ment came  to  their  ears  fairy  music.  As 
they  listened  entranced  the  servant  placed 
before  them  golden  bowls  of  broth. 

Here  Dinah  had  such  a  thing  happen. 
She  pulled  her  kerchief  from  her  pocket, 
and  therefrom  hopped  the  frog  she  had 
found  in  the  oven  bird's  nest. 

It  hopped  straight  into  the  broth, 
splashed  about  for  a  moment  as  though  it 
were  taking  its  morning  bath,  then  out  on 
to  the  table-cloth. 

The  dolls  gazed  appalled.  What  a 
dreadful  thing  to  happen! 

Cinderella  bubbled  over  with  laughter 
as  she  beheld  the  frog's  antics  and  the 
frightened  faces  about  the  table. 

73 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Then  she  took  the  little  wet  creature  in 
her  hand,  dried  it  and  looked  intently  at 
its  back. 

Then  she  quickly  cried,  "Where  did  you 
find  him?  He's  been  lost  for  days.  He's 
one  of  my  beloved  pages." 

"How  can  you  tell  he's  yours,  and  how 
can  a  frog  be  a  page?"  asked  Dinah,  de- 
lighted at  this  turn  of  affairs. 

"A  little  old  man  in  the  woods  gave  him 
a  wand.  He  can  be  anything  he  wants  to 
be.  I  know  he's  mine  because  my  coat 
of  arms  is  stamped  on  his  back.  It's  on 
everything  I  possess.     See!" 

They  all  looked  and  saw  very  clearly 
imprinted  on  the  little  back,  a  tiny 
slipper. 

74 


IN  WONDERLAND 

''Dinah  must  have  the  reward.  I  have 
offered  one  for  weeks." 

Dinah  was  so  overcome  at  the  news  she 
could  scarcely  eat  the  second  bowl  of 
broth  placed  before  her. 

After  they  had  finished  the  bountiful 
meal  of  broiled  chicken,  golden  brown  po- 
tatoes, rolls,  and  ice-cream  in  the  form  of 
slippers,  their  hostess  took  them  through 
the  Palace,  then  left  them  in  the  Sunshine 
room. 

Here  they  found  a  dear  little  page,  all 
dressed  in  black  velvet  trimmed  with  sil- 
ver buttons.  His  feet  were  gaily  shod  in 
black  velvet  slippers  with  enormous  silver 
buckles. 

Dinah  stared  at  him,  then  cried:  "Are 

75 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

you  the  'Frog  who  wculd  a-wooing  go"?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  page,  "and  do  you  know 
how  I  came  to  be  in  that  oven  nest? 

"A  little  girl  saw  me  hopping,  and  she 
followed  me  for  miles,  saying,  'Dump 
aden  toad!  Dump  aden  toad!'  at  each 
hop.  I  got  so  tired.  I  wanted  to  get  back 
to  my  brook,  but  at  last  I  jumped  into  the 
oven  bird's  nest  and  she  couldn't  find  me. 

"I  was  just  thinking  I'd  come  out  when 
you  crept  in." 

"How  funny!"  cried  Mirandy.  "I'd 
like  to  have  seen  you  obeyin'  that  little 
girl.  Where  do  you  s'pose  Cinderella 
is?' 

"She's  gone  to  get  the  reward,"  cried 
Dinah,  quivering  with  excitement. 

76 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Won't  you  let  me  hold  it  sometimes?" 
asked  Topsy  wistfully.  "I  never  did  find 
a  frog  and  get  a  reward." 

"Poor  little  thing!"  murmured  Cinder- 
ella, who  appeared  just  in  time  to  hear 
this  last  remark. 

"You,  too,  shall  have  a  reward.  I  have 
decided  to  give  you  each  one,  for  really  in 
a  way  you  all  found  the  frog." 

As  she  spoke  she  gave  to  each  a  beauti- 
ful opal  box. 

"Press  the  gold  button — so." 

As  they  obeyed  the  lids  popped  open, 
and  oh!  oh!  what  do  you  s'pose  they  saw? 

A  weenty  teenty  gold  slipper  studded 
with  bright  jewels  hanging  from  a  slender 
chain. 

77 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Why  do  you  give  us  these  lovely 
things?"  asked  Rosabell. 

"Because,"  said  Cinderella,  "you  have 
rendered  me  a  great  service. 

"I  am  very  fond  of  the  little  page.  He 
is  a  very  important  part  of  my  household. 
This  is  the  second  time  he  has  played  this 
prank.  The  last  time  he  decided  to  be 
a  bird  and  was  almost  killed  by  a  hunter. 
The  wand  is  hardly  a  safe  toy  for  him  and 
I  shall  destroy  it  now. 

"I  can  never  thank  you  enough  for 
bringing  him  home.  I  hope  you  will  have 
much  pleasure  wearing  the  pendant  slip- 
pers. 

"I  am  going  to  give  you  a  rare  experi- 
ence now." 

78 


IN  WONDERLAND 

She  delivered  a  whispered  message  to  a 
page  who  now  appeared.  He  led  them 
out  the  crystal  door,  down  the  steps,  wThere 
they  found — now  what  do  you  think"? 

Nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  pump- 
kin coach  drawn  by  the  dappled  mouse- 
colored  ponies,  with  the  six  footmen 
gravely  awaiting  their  pleasure. 

They  climbed  into  the  coach,  the  chains 
clanked,  and  with  a  flourish  of  the  whip 
they  departed  in  a  cloud  of  dust. 

"My!"  exclaimed  Rosabell,  "I  feel  al- 
most as  though  we  had  seen  the  fairy  god- 
mother." 

"Me,  too,"  cried  Dinah.  "Look  at  my 
feet,  Topsy;  have  my  shoes  turned  to  glass 
slippers'?" 

79 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Indeed  not.  The  only  slipper  I  see  is 
that  lovely  reward  around  your  neck." 

"I'm  glad  of  it.  I've  had  enough  trou- 
ble with  my  feet  since  I've  been  alive.  I 
don't  want  to  wind  up  with  no  prince 
runnin'  after  me.  I'm  satisfied  to  be  just 
what  I  is, — a  plain  no-count  cullod  doll. 
What  are  we  stoppin'  at?" 

Somehow  their  dappled  ponies  had 
flown  over  the  ground  like  magic,  for  they 
now  found  themselves  miles  away  from 
the  Palace. 

The  footman  helped  them  out,  politely 
touched  his  cap,  and  left  them  gazing  in 
surprise  at  the  strange  house  before 
them. 

In  one  corner  was  a  watch-tower,  which 
80 


IN  WONDERLAND 

was  built  so  high  it  seemed  as  though  one 
could  see  almost  all  over  the  world  from 
its  top. 

"Do  }Tou  know  whose  house  this  is4?" 
asked  Silver  Bird. 

No  one  could  guess. 

"Think  a  moment.  See  the  tower, — 
who  went  up  to  watch4?  Can't  you  just 
hear  the  voice  calling:  'Sister  Anne,  do 
you  see  anybody  coming4?'  " 

"Mercy  me!"  cried  Dinah  in  alarm. 
:'You  don  ketch  me  goin'  in  here.  That's 
Bluebeard's!" 

:'Yes,  but  he  was  killed,  you  know.  His 
wife  still  lives  here  and  is  very  happy. 
You  better  come  and  see  it!  It  is  well 
worth  while." 

81 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

He  led  them  up  the  board  walk,  and 
tapped  at  the  great  heavy  door. 

It  was  opened  by  a  sweet-faced  lady, 
who  looked  with  surprise  at  her  odd  visi- 
tors, but  politely  asked  them  in. 

"We  are  on  a  visit  to  your  island  and  we 
very  much  wanted  to  see  Bluebeard's 
house,  and  to  ask  you  if  it  is  all  really 
truer' 

Mrs.  Bluebeard  laughed  heartily  as  she 
replied,  "Yes,  my  dears,  it  is  true,  but  I'm 
so  happy  I  never  think  of  it.  Come  in  and 
I  will  show  you  about." 

And  so  they  followed  her  up-stairs  and 
down,  gazing  in  awe  at  the  silk  and  satin 
draperies,  the  gold  and  silver  dishes,  and 
the  gorgeous  furniture. 

82 


IN  WONDERLAND 

When  they  reached  the  private  staircase 
which  led  to  the  forbidden  closet,  they  all 
hung  back,  but  their  hostess  cried : 

"Oh,  my  dearies,  you  will  see  nothing 
bad  there.     I  think  it  is  a  beautiful  room ! 

"You  see  the  door  isn't  even  locked.  I 
threw  the  rusty  old  key  into  the  river. 
Look!" 

She  threw  open  the  door  and  they  be- 
held a  perfect  bower;  flowering  plants, 
vines  running  over  the  walls,  birds  dart- 
ing hither  and  thither,  caroling  and  twit- 
tering their  joyous  music,  while  the  air 
was  heavy  with  the  perfume  of  the  rare 
blossoms. 

"You  see  nothing  but  life  here.  Now 
come  up  in  the  tower  and  I  will  show  you 

8^ 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

where  Sister  Anne  watched  for  me  that 
dreadful  day!" 

They  climbed  up,  up,  till  they  reached 
the  watch-tower,  from  which  they  could 
really  see  for  miles  and  miles. 

"Would  you  like  to  look  through  my 
telescope  while  I  go  down  and  feed  my 
birds?" 

"Yes,  indeed!"  cried  the  dollies. 

And  so  they  gazed,  one  after  another 
through  the  big  glass  which  made  every- 
thing seem  so  near. 

As  Rosabell  turned  it  first  in  one  direc- 
tion then  in  another,  she  suddenly  became 
wild  with  excitement. 

"Silver  Bird,  look  quick!"  she  cried. 

Silver  Bird  did  look,  to  see  far  away 

84 


IN  WONDERLAND 

across  the  water  a  sandy  beach.  Here 
were  children  running  about  in  great  dis- 
tress. 

He  turned  the  glass  till  he  could  see 
easily  the  expressions  on  the  anxious 
faces. 

"They  are  our  mothers,"  cried  Rosabell, 
"and  they  have  just  found  out  that  we 
have  gone  away  in  the  boats.  We  must 
go  back  this  minute!" 

"We  can't,"  said  Silver  Bird,  "the  wind 
has  died  down." 

"Oh!"  cried  Rosabell,  "we  must  do 
something.  We  can't  let  them  think  we 
are  drowned! 

"Think!  All  of  you  think  hard  and 
quick!" 

8," 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

The  sudden  silence  that  followed  was 
broken  by  Dinah,  who  suddenly  cried: 

"What's  dat  I  done  hearn  tell  about 
birds  carryin'  messages'?  We  can  tie  a 
letter  to  Silver  Bird's  wing,  when  I  turn 
him  to  a  bird  with  my  wand.  He  can  just 
fly  over  there  and  drop  it  in  somebody's 
lap.     They'll  feel  quite  sot  up  over  it!" 

"Indeed  they  will.  You  are  a  jewel, 
Dinah,  to  think  of  it.  Let's  go  ask  Mrs. 
Bluebeard  for  paper  and  pencil." 

And  so  in  a  few  minutes  this  letter  was 
tied  to  Silver  Bird's  wing: 

"Dear  mothers: 

"We  are  safe.  We  sailed  away  in  the  shoe 
boats.  Silver  Bird  has  been  showing  us  inter- 
esting places.  I  don't  know  how  we  saw  so 
many  in  such  a  little  time  but  we  did.     I  s'pose 

86 


IN  WONDERLAND 

it's  like  when  you  dream  of  going  to  the  moon 
and  back  in  one  minute.  You  do  but  you  don't 
know  why. 

"We  can't  come  back  yet  because  the  wind 
has  died  down.     When  it  dies  up  again  we  can. 

"While  we  wait  we  are  going  to  see  more 
things.  Perhaps  you  can  come,  too.  I  wish't 
you  could. 

"Good-by  with  love  and  kisses  from  all'. 

"The  Live  Dolls." 

As  Silver  Bird  sailed  away,  Mrs.  Blue- 
beard clapped  her  hands  crying,  "It's  like 
a  matinee.     Tell  me  about  it." 

"We  will,  but  mayn't  we  first  watch 
through  the  glass"?  I  want  to  see  our 
mothers  get  glad." 

"Indeed,  yes.  I  want  to  see,  too.  This 
is  the  next  act  of  the  play,  I  suppose, 
and  we  mustn't  miss  it." 

87 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

They  hurried  up  the  stairway,  and  in 
turn  watched  through  the  telescope  to  see 
Silver  Bird  sailing  on  and  on. 

"Brave  little  bird !  How  fast  he  goes !" 
cried  their  hostess.  "Now  he  is  just  above 
them.  Now  he  darts  down  and  oh,  do 
see!  he  has  perched  on  a  shoulder  of  one 
of  the  girls. 

"See  the  others  gather  about  her.  Now 
they  are  taking  the  letter,  and  are 
reading  it. 

"See  how  happy  they  are.  Do  tell  me 
about  it!  Are  you  rehearsing  for  a  play? 
Let's  sit  down  in  a  circle  and  you  tell  me 
about  it. 

"You  seem  such  a  queer  lot  of  little  peo- 
ple; almost  like  some  dolls  I  used  to  have. 

88 


IN  WONDERLAND 

If  it  were  possible  I  would  say  you  were 
a  lot  of  dolls  come  to  life." 

"That's  just  what  we  are!"  chorused 
the  dolls. 

And  then  they  told  her  the  whole  story 
from  beginning  to  end,  and  wound  up  by 
telling  their  last  escapade  with  the  little 
shoe  boats. 

As  the  tale  was  finished,  Lady  Bluebeard 
laughed  so  hard  the  tears  rolled  down  her 
cheeks. 

"My!"  she  said,  "how  I  wish  I  were  a 
little  girl  again  and  could  play  with  a 
Live  Doll." 

"I  think  we  must  go,"  said  Rosabell. 
"Thank  you  so  much  for  showing  us  your 
house. 

80 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 


"If  you  ever  do  come  to  Cloverdale  we 
will  show  you  our  doll  house  where  all 
these  things  we  have  told  about  hap- 
pened." 

Much  amused  the  lady  opened  the  big 
heavy  door,  and  away  they  went. 


e  *3r?&\ 


J\ 


'  s~  J>  -z 


a 


CHAPTER  V 

Y!"  sighed  Dinah,  "just 
think  how  many  times  that 
awful  blue-whiskered  man 

has   tromped   up   and   down   these   steps. 

I'm  glad  he's  out  of  the  way!" 


M 


91 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

As  they  wandered  on  they  found  it  was 
growing  dark. 

"Where  shall  we  go  to  wait  for  Silver 
Bird'?"  asked  Mirandy. 

"Let's  go  over  to  that  hill  beside  that 
high  mountain.  It  looks  so  pretty  with 
punkins  planted  on  the  side  of  it!"  cried 
Topsy. 

And  so  the  dollies  skipped  along  the 
dusty  road,  into  a  meadow  and  up  one  hill 
and  down  another  until  they  reached  the 
top  of  the  hill,  the  whole  side  of  which 
was  everywhere  dotted  with  fat  yellow 
pumpkins. 

As  they  stood  for  a  moment  in  the  dusk, 
the  big  round  moon  rose  and  bathed  the 
scene  in  its  glorious  light. 

02 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Listen!"  cried  Topsy,  "what's  com- 
in  i 

As  they  listened  they  heard  the  tread  of 
some  sort  of  creature. 

"Look!  comin'  down  that  other  hill  this 
way ! 

They  all  gazed  appalled  to  see  ambling 
toward  them  a  gray  wolf. 

"Where  can  we  hide"?"  they  cried. 

"Here's  a  churn  standing  behind  this 
stump.  I  bet  it's  the  one  the  Little  Red 
Hen  rolled  down  in  when  she  went  from 
the  fair  and  the  wolf  was  looking  for  her. 
Jump  in  quick!" 

In  a  jiffy  they  were  inside,  holding  tight 
to  the  dasher. 

As  they  waited  breathlessly,  they  heard 

93 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

the  wolf  coming  nearer  and  nearer. 
When  he  reached  the  churn  he  pawed  it 
around  till  it  turned  over  on  its  side,  and 
down  the  hill  it  rolled. 

Mr.  Wolf  jumped  atop  of  it,  and  a  weird 
ride  they  had  in  the  moonlight. 

WThen  they  reached  the  bottom  he 
sniffed  about  the  lid,  then  giving  the 
churn  a  push  he  left  it  and  went  his  way. 

"My!"  said  Dinah,  as  they  crept  from 
their  hiding-place,  "I  was  skeered  that 
time! 

"He's  the  very  one,  I'm  sure,  who  was 
always  trying  to  get  the  Little  Red  Hen. 
I  can  just  hear  him  say,  Til  puff  and  I'll 
puff  till  I  blow  your  house  in.'  : 

"He  can't  be  that  one,"  said  Mirandy. 

94 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"He  fell  down  the  chimney  into  the  pot 
of  water." 

"Well,  then,  he  came  alive  again,"  de- 
clared Dinah,  "for  he  looks  just  like  the 
picture." 

"Never  mind  about  the  wolf.  Come 
and  see  these  queer  pumpkins;  they  look 
like  houses!"  whispered  Rosabell. 

"They  are  really  and  truly  houses!" 
they  all  cried,  "and  no  one  in  them!" 

And  sure  enough  they  were;  all  fur- 
nished with  cook  stove,  bed,  chairs,  and 
everything  that  goes  to  make  up  a  home. 
Some  one  lived  there,  and  those  some  ones 
were  certainly  very  orderly,  for  everything 
was  as  neat  as  a  pin. 

A   tiny   broom   stood   in   a   corner,    the 

95 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

floors  were  as  clean  as  a  whistle,  and  the 
beds  were  made  up  without  a  wrinkle. 

"I'm  so  sleepy,  do  you  s'pose  we  could 
go  to  bed?  We'd  just  fit  them,"  said  Mi- 
randy  wistfully. 

"I  think  we  might,"  said  Rosabell,  un- 
able to  resist  the  fluffy  beds. 

And  so  each  dolly  was  soon  sound 
asleep,  with  her  pumpkin  door  securely 
hooked  and  bolted,  while  the  moon  shone 
in  through  the  tiny  window,  on  the  dollies' 
faces  pillowed  on  the  round  fat  arms. 

Suddenly  they  were  awakened  by  fairy 
music. 

They  all  sprang  from  their  beds  and 
peered  through  the  tiny  window  to  see — 
such  a  sight! 

96 


A    circle   of    fairies    danced    in    the   moonlighl 


IN  WONDERLAND 

A  circle  of  fairies  dancing  in  the  moon- 
light, all  gowned  in  shimmering  silver! 

Presently  the  music  changed  to  a  sigh- 
ing as  of  wind  in  the  tree-tops,  then  the 
fairy  who  seemed  to  be  the  head  of  the 
band,  stepped  from  the  ring  and  waved 
on  high  a  silver  key. 

The  music  now  changed  to  a  weird 
march  as  the  fairies  formed  in  line  and 
marched  to  a  clump  of  bushes  which  grew 
very  near  to  the  pumpkin  house. 

The  dolls  watched  entranced  at  the 
scene,  to  see  the  fairy  pause  in  front  of 
the  bushes,  and  pull  them  aside,  disclosing 
a  massive  stone. 

She  inserted  the  key  in  a  lock,  turned  it, 
and  the  stone  swung  outward. 

97 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Then  came  to  their  e?.rs  a  sweet  chime  of 
bells,  and  then  from  the  door  rushed  a 
troop  of  rosy-cheeked  children  garbed  in 
curious  quaint  gowns. 

The  door  clanked  behind  them,  and  the 
children  gathered  about  the  fairy  and 
seemed  to  be  listening  to  her  counsel. 

"Where  is  the  Pied  Piper"?"  asked  the 
Fairy  Captain. 

"Sound  asleep!"  cried  the  children  in 
chorus. 

"Can  we  go  home  to  our  mothers  to- 
night'?" asked  one  wistful-faced  baby. 

:'You  may,  for  I  have  at  last  the  money 
your  parents  owed  him  for  piping  the  rats 
away. 

98 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"I'm  going  to  leave  the  bag  of  gold  in- 
side the  cavern." 

With  these  words  she  again  unlocked  the 
stone  door,  and  with  the  help  of  her  band 
the  bag  was  placed  inside,  the  door 
clanked,  and  the  key  turned. 

"Now,"  said  the  Fairy  Captain,  "you 
are  safe.  He  never  can  pipe  you  away 
again  because  we  have  his  pipe  and  have 
buried  it  deep,  deep,  deep. 

"Would  you  rather  sleep  with  us  here 
in  our  pumpkin  houses  to-night,  or  shall 
we  take  you  home  at  once?" 

The  dolls  waited  breathlessly  for  the 
reply,  and  much  relieved  they  were  when 
the  children  begged  to  go  home  at  once. 

99 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"But  how  will  you  get  us  there?"  asked 
the  wistful  one. 

"Do  you  see  that  the  ground  is  covered 
with  dry  eurled-up  leaves'?"  asked  the 
Fairy  Captain.  "We  shall  transform  you 
into  fairies,  and  these  brown  leaves  will 
infold  you,  then  you  will  be  perfectly 
safe.  No  one  would  think  of  looking  for 
the  Children  of  Hamelin  in  dried  curled- 
up  leaves. 

"Then  a  wonderful  thing  will  happen!" 

And  to  a  gay  little  tune  the  fairy  wands 
flashed  in  the  moonlight,  while  the  chil- 
dren grew  smaller  and  smaller.  A  gust 
of  wind  blew  the  brown  leaves  about 
them,  and  in  a  twinkling  each  fairy  was 
garbed  in  a  little  brown  coat. 

100 


IN  WONDERLAND 

They  looked  so  cunning  with  their  tiny 
heads  peeping  out  of  the  wee  hoods  that 
the  dollies  gazed  spellbound. 

Suddenty  a  clanking  sound  came  to 
their  ears.  The  big  stone  gate  opened 
slowly,  and  there  stood  the  strangest  ap- 
parition ! 

"His  queer  long  coat  from  heel  to  head 
Was  half  of  yellow  and  half  of  red, 
And  he  himself  was  tall  and  thin, 
With  sharp  blue  eyes,  each  like  a  pin. 

"And  here  they  noticed  around  his  neck 

A  scarf  of  red  and  yellow  stripe, 

To  match  with  his  coat  of  the  self-same  check; 

And  at  the  scarf's  end — " 

Where  there  should  have  been  a  pipe 
there  was  none. 

101 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Where  is  my  pipe,  and  where  are  my 
children?"  he  thundered  forth. 

But  nothing  was  to  be  heard  but  the 
sighing  wind  whistling  about  his  head. 

"I  could  stand  it  to  lose  the  children, 
but,  oh,  my  pipe!"  he  wailed. 

"I  don't  care  for  the  gold  they  left.  All 
the  gold  in  the  world  can't  replace  my 
pipe." 

"And  his  fingers,  they  noticed,  were  ever  stray- 
ing 
As  if  impatient  to  be  playing." 

"I  know  I  was  wrong  to  take  their  chil- 
dren, but  why  didn't  they  keep  their 
promise?"  he  continued  sadly. 

The  only  reply  heard  was  the  song  of 
the  wind  rising  higher  and  higher,  rolling 

102 


IN  WONDERLAND 

the  leaves  along  gently  at  first,  then  faster 
and  faster,  and  as  they  swirled  out  of  sight 
a  silvery  laugh  floated  back  and  was 
echoed  and  reechoed  by  the  hills. 

The  old  man  pondered  for  a  moment, 
then  cried  in  dispair: 

"Since  my  music  is  gone  there  is  nothing 
left  for  me  here;  I'll  go  back  to  my  cav- 
ern. 

He  turned  and  disappeared,  the  stone 
gate  clanked  behind  him,  the  key  turned 
and  all  was  silent. 

After  talking  over  this  unusual  enter- 
tainment, each  dolly  returned  to  her  bed 
and  slept  till  awakened  by  the  shrill  note 
of  a  bird. 

Rosabell  hastened  to  her  window  to  see 
103 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Silver  Bird  perched  on  a  branch  of  a  near- 
by bush. 

Dinah,  too,  heard  his  welcome  tones,  and 
hastened  to  wave  her  wand,  while  the  dol- 
lies all  rushed  to  the  spot  eager  to  hear 
the  news. 

"Tell  us  about  it;  were  our  mothers 
frightened'?"  they  cried. 

"Well,  a  little  at  first,"  replied  Silver 
Bird,  "and  when  they  found  where  you 
were  they  wanted  to  follow,  of  course, 
and  so  they  are  coming." 

"But  how  can  they  come4?" 

"That's  what  I'm  so  eager  to  tell  you; 
such  a  strange  thing  happened !  You  will 
hardly  believe  it! 

"As  they  sat  on  the  shore  in  the  moon- 
104 


IN  WONDERLAND 

light  talking  over  the  letter,  suddenly  we 
all  heard  a  strange  humming  sound  as  of 
wailing  wind;  higher  and  higher  it  rose 
whistling  about  our  heads. 

"Then  came  scurrying  toward  us  a  swirl 
of  dead  leaves.  They  fairly  seemed  alive 
as  they  scampered  to  the  shore's  edge,  and 
there  paused  as  though  awaiting  some- 
thing, while  the  music  continued  as  of 
winds  sighing  through  the  tree-tops. 

"As  we  stood  watching  the  silver  path 
made  by  the  moon  away  out  on  the  water, 
suddenly  at  the  far  end  of  that  path 
appeared  a  tiny  speck.  It  grew  larger 
and  larger,  and  presently  we  saw  that  it 
was  a  whale. 

"As  it  drew  nearer  the  brown  leaves 
105 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

rustled  and  seemed  to  huddle  closely  to- 
gether in  one  tight  clump. 

"Mr.  Whale  came  straight  up  on  to  the 
sand,  paused  in  front  of  the  Queen,  bowed 
and  asked  her  if  she  had  summoned  him. 

"She  nodded,  and  pointed  mysteriously 
toward  the  clump  of  dead  leaves. 

"With  a  knowing  look  he  cried  ques- 
tioningly,  'So'?  Well,  then,  I'm  off  for  a 
journey.     Can  I  take  you  with  me? 

c  'Indeed,  yes.  Children,  this  is  Good 
Kind  Whale.  He  offers  to  take  us  for  a 
ride.  You  can  ride  as  mermaids  on  his 
back.  He  will  take  you  to  Mother  Goose 
village,  then  leave  you  on  Story  Island. 
Will  you  go4?' 

"Mermaids   they  were   wild   to  be,   of 
106 


IN  WONDERLAND 

course,  and  so  in  a  moment  they  were 
changed  into  the  dearest  little  silvery- 
tailed,  golden-haired  creatures  you  ever 
saw. 

"With  shouts  of  joy  they  clambered  on 
to  Good  Kind  Whale's  back. 

"In  some  strange  way  the  dried  leaves 
were  hidden  under  his  fins. 

"Then,  lashing  his  tail  and  spouting  the 
water  all  over  his  guests,  away  they 
went,  while  the  children  shouted  with 
laughter. 

"The  Queen  will  show  them  the  places 
we  have  already  visited,"  said  Silver  Bird, 
"and  while  they  are  doing  that  I  want  to 
take  you  to  a  most  unusual  place.  Then 
we  will  meet  them  and  all  go  home  to- 

107 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

gether.  I  wonder  if  we  can  find  anything 
to  eat  here?" 

"Indeed,  yes,"  cried  Dinah.  "I  have 
found  berries,  honey  and  milk." 

And,  seated  on  mushrooms,  they  feasted 
on  these  goodies. 

"There  was  one  thing  I  didn't  under- 
stand," said  Silver  Bird,  as  they  ate  their 
breakfast,  "and  that  was  about  those 
dried  leaves." 

"We  do!"  cried  the  dollies.  "We 
know  all  about  it!" 

"You  do!"  cried  Silver  Bird  in  amaze- 
ment.    "Tell  me  about  it." 

And  thereupon  the  dolls  related  the 
strange  story  of  the  midnight  fairy  dance. 

"You  know,"  said  Rosabell,  "it  was  the 
108 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Pied  Piper  and  the  children  he  piped 
away." 

"Who  was  the  Pied  Piper1?"  asked  Sil- 
ver Bird,  much  interested. 

"Why,  don't  you  know?  He  piped 
away  the  rats  from  the  village  of  Hame- 
lin.  Then  the  people  refused  to  pay  him 
what  they  had  promised,  and  he  charmed 
away  the  children  for  revenge.  I  know 
it  by  heart.     Listen! 

'  'Ere  he  blew  three  notes.  .  .  . 
Small  feet  were  pattering,  wooden  shoes  clat- 
tering, 
Little  hands  clapping  and  little  tongues  chat- 
tering, 
And,  like  fowls  in  a  farm-yard  when  barley  is 

scattering, 
Out  came  the  children  running. 

109 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

All  the  little  boys  and  girls, 
With  rosy  cheeks  and  flaxen  curls, 
And  sparkling  eyes  and  teeth  like  pearls, 
Tripping  and  skipping,  ran  merrily  after 
The  wonderful  music  with  shouting  and  laugh- 
ter. 


When,  lo,  as  they  reached  the  mountain-side, 
A  wondrous  portal  opened  wide. 

The  Piper  advanced  and  the  children  followed, 
And  when  all  were  in  to  the  very  last, 
The  door  in  the  mountain-side  shut  fast." 

"All  but  one  little  lame  boy  who  could 
not  dance  all  the  way,  and  he  went  back 
and  told  all  about  it. 

"And  so,  you  see,  there  is  the  very  moun- 
tain where  they  have  been  shut  in  all  this 

110 


IN  WONDERLAND 

time.  I'm  glad  we  happened  to  see  them 
when  they  came  out." 

"And  I  am  glad  to  hear  this  interesting 
story,"  said  Silver  Bird. 

"Now,  we  will  bid  good-by  to  your 
pumpkin  houses  and  start  on  our  journey." 


I 


CHAPTER  VI 

/  /  "  N  order  that  you  may  go  with  me 
in  the  easiest  way  I  shall  have  to 
change  you  into  silver  birds.  I 
also  have  a  wand  to  use  on  special  oc- 
casions. One  wave  will  turn  you  into  the 
dearest  little  birds  you  ever  saw." 

112 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"What  fun!"  exclaimed  the  dolls  much 
excited. 

"We've  been  flying  fairies,  but  never 
did  we  be  birds.  Can  we  still  talk*?" 
questioned  Dinah. 

"Of  course.  Birds  have  a  language  just 
as  people  do. 

"Now  remember  this:  as  we  fly  don't 
lose  sight  of  me.  You  will  all  be  much 
smaller  so  you  can't  mistake  me  for  one  of 
your  number.     Are  you  ready6?" 

The  dollies  nodded,  and  Silver  Bird 
drew  forth  a  silver  feather. 

"I  found  this  on  my  way  back.  I  lost 
it  long  ago,  and  I  was  glad,  indeed,  to  see 
it  lodged  on  a  branch  of  a  tree." 

As  he  spoke  he  swept  it  through  the  air, 
113 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

and  dear  me!  I  wish  you  could  have 
seen  the  silvery  creatures  trying  their 
wings. 

"Follow  me!"  chirped  their  leader. 

They  flapped  their  wings,  then  up  above 
the  tree-tops  they  soared  and  sailed  grace- 
fully across  the  sky.  On  and  on  they  flew 
till  presently  they  saw  below  them  the 
blue  sea  dotted  by  fairy  boats. 

As  they  darted  down  and  settled  upon 
the  boats  they  found  them  to  be  of  glit- 
tering ice,  in  all  sorts  of  shapes. 

Some  looked  like  tiny  boats,  others  like 
churches  with  steeples.  Castles,  too,  ap- 
peared.    All  were  of  a  beautiful  icy  blue. 

"Aren't  they  wonderful!  What  are 
they'?"  cried  one  and  another  as  they  found 

114 


IN  WONDERLAND 

themselves  carried  along  on  those  strange 
creations. 

"To  people  they  are  icebergs  broken 
from  the  glaciers  above.  Silver  Birds 
only  know  what  they  really  are. 

"What  seems  to  be  a  glacier  is  simply 
an  immense  Ice  Palace  where  Jack  Frost 
and  his  Elves  live. 

"These  are  their  boats.  If  you  had  ever 
been  up  here  on  a  steamer  you  would  have 
noticed  these  wee  boats  covered  with  sil- 
ver birds.  They  are  Jack  Frost's  mes- 
sengers. 

"Jack  Frost  and  his  Elves  can  not  leave 
their  home,  they  are  so  busy.  So  the  birds 
go  about  for  them.  It  is  so  easy  for  us  to 
skim  across  the  sky." 

115 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"But  what  do  you  do  for  them'?"  queried 
Rosabell. 

"I'll  show  you  presently,  and  since  you 
have  joined  the  ranks  of  Silver  Birds  you 
also  will  be  put  to  work." 

"Oh!"  cried  Topsy,  "it's  going  to  be 
such  fun!  Do  tell  me  how  to  clap  my 
hands  when  I  haven't  any  to  clap." 

"Flap  your  wings,  goosey,"  cried  Dinah. 

A  great  flapping  of  wings  followed  this 
remark,  for  they  were  all  delighted  over 
the  prospect  before  them. 

They  clung  with  their  claws  to  the  ice 
boats  that  glided  silently  and  swiftly  on 
their  way. 

Presently  it  grew  dark;  then  the  moon 
appeared. 

116 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"See!"  cried  Rosabell,  "the  man  in  the 
moon  is  smiling  at  us.  He's  thinking  of 
our  ride  in  the  moon  boat  I  s'pose." 

"Oh!  Isn't  it  lovely!  Everything 
glistens  in  this  silvery  light." 

"The  stars  are  so  bright  and  clear." 

"Oh!  Oh!  Is  that  the  Ice  Palace 
where  Jack  Frost  lives'?" 

"I  never  saw  anything  so  lovely.  Do 
see  the  starry  lights  twinkling  in  the 
windows!" 

"And  what  are  those  funny  little  peo- 
ple tumbling  about  on  the  ice?  Are  they 
Live  Dolls,  too?  Aren't  they  cunning  in 
those  blue  suits  trimmed  with  white  fur!" 
cried  the  various  Silver  Birds. 

"They  are  the  Frost  Elves,"  replied  Sil- 

117 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

ver  Bird.  "I  shall  now  make  you  into 
dolls  again.  They  are  so  proud  of  them- 
selves I  want  them  to  see  they  aren't  the 
only  tiny  people  in  the  world.  See! 
They  have  discovered  us!" 

Sure  enough  the  little  blue-coated  crea- 
tures now  gathered  about  their  leader, 
who  pointed  toward  the  boats,  then 
seemed  to  give  an  order. 

They  all  disappeared  only  to  reappear 
harnessed  in  pairs,  drawing  a  queer  sled 
which  looked  like  a  mammoth  skate. 

"They  are  going  to  draw  us  up,"  cried 
Silver  Bird,  flashing  his  wand. 

"Jump  for  the  shore.  We  will  have 
great  fun  now!" 

The  dolls,  much  excited,  watched  the 
118 


IN  WONDERLAND 

strange  sled  come  swiftly  toward  them. 
As  it  stopped  the  Elves  rolled  off  and  in 
piping  voices  cried: 

"Hurrah!  What  have  we  here?"  as 
they  gazed  curiously  at  the  Live  Dolls. 

"Oh,"  replied  Silver  Bird,  "they  are 
our  guests  from  Cloverdale.  They  wanted 
to  see  your  Ice  Palace  and  so  I  brought 
them. 

"Of  course  we  came  as  birds,  but  they 
are  really  Live  Dolls  and  I  knew  you 
would  love  to  see  them  as  they  are." 

"Indeed,  yes,  we  are  delighted  to 
meet  you!"  cried  the  Elves  with  bashful 
bows. 

"Lucky  you  came,  Silver  Bird,"  cried 
the  leader  of  the  band,  "we  were  about  to 

119 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

send  for  you.  We  have  an  order  for  the 
biggest  storm  of  the  season.  The  other 
bands  are  all  out,  so  you  must  summon 
your  helpers." 

"Good  news!"  said  Silver  Bird.  "I 
have  a  band  right  with  me.  They  will 
like  nothing  better  than  to  help  me." 

"We  are  very  pleased  to  welcome  you 
to  our  house,"  said  the  leader  with  a  pro- 
found curtsy;  "if  you  will  be  seated  on  the 
sledge  my  Merry  Men  will  draw  you  up 
to  the  Palace." 

The  dolls  hastened  to  obey,  and  the 
Merry  Men  drew  them  up  the  icy  path 
to  the  sound  of  jingling  bells  and  tooting 
horns. 

As  they  neared  the  home  of  Jack  Frost 

120 


We  are  very  pleased  to  welcome  you 


IN  WONDERLAND 

they  were  entranced  at  the  picture  spread 
out  before  them. 

The  silver  moonbeams  clothed  the 
Palace  in  a  soft  tender  light,  while  the 
hundreds  of  windows  twinkled  like  so 
many  stars.  The  whole  building  seemed 
enveloped  in  an  icy  fretwork  of  fern 
leaves  and  twigs,  which,  with  the 
windows,  were  covered  with  a  thick  hoar 
frost. 

"Welcome  to  our  home !"  cried  the  Elves 
as  they  paused  before  steps  cut  out  in  a 
mammoth  block  of  ice,  leading  up  to  the 
broad  door. 

"Come  in  and  sup  with  us.  Then  you 
can  look  through  the  Palace  while  we  fill 
the  storm  clouds." 

121 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

The  dolls,  eager  to  see  the  wonders  of 
this  strange  place,  followed  the  Elves  up 
the  steps. 

As  they  entered  the  door  some  one  blew 
a  trumpet,  then  was  heard  a  silvery  chime 
of  bells  which  echoed  and  reechoed 
throughout  the  mammoth  building. 

They  were  ushered  into  a  large  room, 
where  before  the  crackling  fire  was 
seated — Jack  Frost, — sound  asleep ! 

They  tiptoed  up  to  his  chair,  gazing 
curiously  at  the  little  fellow  who  had 
wrought  such  beautiful  pictures,  and  done 
such  wonderful  deeds  all  over  the  world. 

They  watched  him  sleeping  peacefully, 
garbed  in  blue  clothes  with  white  fur  trim- 
ming, and  could  hardly  believe  they  were 

122 


IN  WONDERLAND 

really  in  the  presence  of  such  a  noted  be- 
ing. 

As  they  turned  from  him  they  saw  in 
front  of  the  fire  a  long  table  ready  spread 
for  a  meal. 

Such  a  room  they  had  never  beheld! 
The  walls  were  trimmed  with  frosted 
branches  of  holly,  while  the  ceiling  seemed 
crystallized  and  studded  with  rubies. 

"Are  they  really  rubies'?"  asked  Rosa- 
bell,  gazing  in  awe  at  the  sight. 

"Oh,  no,"  laughed  the  Elves.  "They 
are  holly  berries  stuck  deep  in  the  frost." 

Just  here  Jack  sprang  to  his  feet,  cry- 
ing, "Sit  up,  sit  up,  and  we  will  sup. 
Why,  whom  have  we  here"?"  he  added  in 
surprise. 

123 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"The  Live  Dolls  from  Cloverdale,  your 
Majesty,"  came  in  loud  tones  from  a  page 
at  the  end  of  the  room. 

"Indeed!  Well,  right  glad  am  I  to  see 
you.  Sup  with  us  and  tell  me  all  about 
yourselves." 

The  dollies  were  soon  seated  about  the 
board,  much  interested  in  all  that  went 
on  about  them. 

"See  the  napkins,"  whispered  Mirandy, 
"and  the  table-cloth.  They  look  like 
frosted  window-panes  covered  with  a 
scrollwork  of  ferns.  I  wonder  if  they'll 
give  us  frozen  food!" 

But  indeed  they  didn't.  They  had  hot 
oyster  soup,   such  as  they  never  tasted; 

124 


IN  WONDERLAND 

then  roasted  birds  with  jelly,  vegetables 
and  jam  tarts. 

As  they  ate  they  told  Jack  Frost  of  many 
of  their  experiences. 

He  laughed  heartily  over  Dinah's  feat, 
and  seemed  much  interested  in  all  they 
related. 

"Now,"  he  said  as  they  rose  from  the 
table,  "I  shall  show  you  the  wonders  of 
my  home,"  and  he  took  them  into  every 
nook  and  corner. 

"We  fill  the  clouds  from  these  rooms 
according  to  the  sort  of  weather  desired." 

As  he  spoke,  he  opened  one  door  labeled 
"Wind."  Such  a  swirl  met  them  that 
they  had  hard  work  to  keep  their  footing, 

125 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

and  dear  little  Mirandy  was  blown  over, 
upside  down. 

"Pardon  me,  madam,"  apologized  the 
little  fellow  with  twinkling  eyes,  as  he 
righted  her  and  opened  another  door. 

"Here  we  store  barrels  of  sleet,  snow 
and  hail. 

"Here,  also,  we  keep  the  thick  feathery 
frost  which  you  often  find  coating  every- 
thing on  wintry  mornings.  It  is  hard 
work  to  bring  out  those  plumy  effects. 

"I  send  hundreds  of  my  messengers,  and 
they  work  all  night  with  their  brushes.  I 
have  one  little  chap  who  is  an  expert  at 
frosting  windows.  I  never  allow  him  to 
do  anything  else.  He  never  paints  two 
windows  alike.     He  is  certainly  a  wonder ! 

126 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"The  Elves  do  this  work  and  the  Sil- 
ver Birds  carry  the  clouds  for  storms. 

"In  this  room  is  rain,  and  here  is  a  pretty 
room,  see!" 

As  he  opened  this  door  a  shower  of  tiny 
dewdrops  fell  upon  them. 

"See,  they  look  like  jewels.  They  glis- 
ten on  the  cobwebs,  if  you  look  early 
enough  in  the  morning  for  them,  like  a 
mass  of  diamonds.  These  go  out  every 
night  in  summer. 

"Here  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
rooms  we  have,"  and  he  threw  open  a  wide 
door,  much  pleased  over  the  admiration 
now  expressed  by  all,  for  what  do  you 
s'pose  they  saw?  An  oval  room  arched 
with  rainbows,  hundreds  of  them,  beauti- 

127 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

ful  prisms  of  color  just  waiting  to  be 
called  for. 

Last,  but  not  least,  they  were  shown  the 
Sunshine  Room,  which  so  dazzled  their 
eyes  they  were  glad  when  the  door  was 
closed. 

"You  see  we  keep  bottled  up  here  all 
sorts  of  weather  for  all  parts  of  the  world. 
It  keeps  us  all  busy,  too.  The  rain  must 
not  freeze  and  the  ice  must  not  melt. 

"The  wind  must  not  blow  away,  nor 
must  it  blow  us  away.  We  keep  that  in 
what  we  call  the  Strong  Room. 

"Near  that  is  the  Thunder  and  Light- 
ning Room.  The  thunder  roars  and  the 
lightning  flashes  most  of  the  time.     The 

128 


IN  WONDERLAND 

walls  and  floors  are  padded  so  we  don't 
notice  it. 

"Then  we  have  a  Fog  Room,  the  thickest 
kind,  just  on  purpose  for  London.  They 
never  seem  to  have  enough  of  that.  I 
won't  open  that  door,  it  is  so  nasty. 

"The  thing  I  like  best  to  send  out  is  just 
a  good  old-fashioned  rain  cloud  followed 
by  the  little  fellows  who  plant  the  rain- 
bows. They  revel  in  it,  and  do  you  know, 
those  dear  little  chaps  always  keep  their 
promises.  I  s'pose  it  is  on  account  of 
handling  those  beautiful  arches  of  color 
which  really  mean  a  promise  kept,  you 
remember. 

"Now  come  and  watch  the  Storm  Cloud 
129 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

being  filled.  We  are  just  about  to  send 
it  out.  See  out  this  window,  that  bulgy 
purple  cloud.  The  wind  is  rushing  into  it. 
It  sort  of  infolds  a  number  of  smaller 
clouds  which  are  filled  to  the  brim  with 
rain,  snow  and  sleet. 

"I  believe  you  are  to  help  to  deliver 
this  order,  and  so  you  will  have  to  be  on 
your  way.  Good-by  and  good  luck  to 
you. 

As  they  in  turn  grasped  Jack's  hand, 
Silver  Bird  appeared  crying;  "Are  you 
ready?" 

They  nodded,  the  wand  waved,  and  in 
a  moment  the  Silver  Birds  were  all  sta- 
tioned about  the  big  blue  cloud,  grasping 
its  edge  with  their  beaks. 

130 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"Now — away — we  go!" 

And  away  they  flew  on  the  wildest  race 
they  ever  had. 

As  they  soared  along  the  wind  began 
to  "wooh"  about  their  heads;  louder  and 
louder  it  wailed. 

"Here's  the  place,"  chirped  Silver  Bird. 
"It  said  in  the  almanac — CA  storm  is  due 
here  about  this  time,'  so  they  have  to  have 
it.     Shake  the  cloud,  gently  at  first." 

One  shake  brought  forth  a  burst  of  rain, 
which  the  wind  blew  in  every  direction. 

Another  shake  turned  the  rain  to  sleet, 
which  coated  everything  it  touched. 

"Now  give  it  a  good  hard  one!"  cried 
Silver  Bird. 

Such  fun  as  they  had  now  watching  the 

131 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

snowflakes  fall.  First  they  were  large, 
almost  like  feathers.  Then  they  grew 
smaller,  and  fell  so  fast  that  the  world 
below  soon  looked  like  a  big  frosted 
cake. 

"How  do  the  flakes  get  to  be  such  pretty 
shapes'?  I  never  saw  such  pretty  things!" 
said  Rosabell. 

"We'll  take  back  the  empty  cloud  and 
I'll  show  you,"  replied  Silver  Bird. 

A  rollicking  time  they  had  on  the  return 
trip  as  they  took  turns  riding  in  the  cloud, 
which  was  like  a  great  down  quilt.  It  fin- 
ally landed  them  on  the  roof  of  the  Ice 
Palace,  which  they  found  was  formed  of 
myriads  of  icy  molds.  With  the  big 
magnifying-glass  they  saw  the  snowflakes 

132 


IN  WONDERLAND 

being  cut  out  by  machinery  from  frosty 
bits  taken  from  the  ice  piled  all  about. 

"As  they  are  cut,  you  see  they  fall  be- 
low into  clouds  suspended  there  for  that 
purpose. 

"In  this  corner  they  are  cutting  hail  and 
sleet.     That  is  made  from  clear  ice." 

"How  do  the  fairy  forms  stay  in  shape*? 
They  are  all  different  and  perfect  as  they 
fall;  how  do  they  do  itw?"  cried  Rosabell, 
much  puzzled. 

"Did  you  ever  notice  rice  after  it's 
cooked"?  If  it  is  properly  cooked  each 
grain  keeps  its  shape.  If  not,  it  is  all  a 
sticky  mass. 

"These  flakes  are  properly  taken  care 
of,    that's    why    they    are    so    beautiful. 

133 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

Everything  Jack  Frost  does  is  properly 
done,  and  so  you  see  perfect  results.  Re- 
member that  when  you  look  at  the  exqui- 
site flakes  on  your  coats. 

"Now  we  must  bid  good-by  to  Jack  and 
his  Elves  and  be  on  our  way." 


CHAPTER  VII 

AS  they  left  the  Palace  they  were 
much  surprised  to  receive  tiny 
gifts  from  Mr.  Frost.  These 
were  the  dearest  little  snowflake  pins  you 
ever  saw,  and  so  if  you  ever  see  a  doll 
wearing  one  you  will  know  it  is  one  of  the 

135 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

real  original  Live  Dolls  of  Cloverdale. 

With  merry  farewells,  the  dollies  seated 
themselves  on  the  sled  and  whizzed  down 
the  hill  to  their  iceberg  boats. 

When  they  were  comfortably  placed  on 
them  the  Elves  pushed  them  out  with  long 
poles,  and  at  once  they  were  on  their 
homeward  voyage. 

"That  was  grand!"  cried  one  and  all. 

"After  this,  when  the  wind  blows  or  the 
snow  falls,  I'll  think  of  the  dear  little 
birds  high  up  shaking  the  clouds,  and  when 
I  see  the  frosted  windows  I'll  have  great 
fun  tracing  the  pictures  to  see  if  there  are 
two  alike,"  said  Rosabell. 

They  had  hardly  finished,  talking  it  all 
over  when   the   little  boats   touched  the 

136 


IN  WONDERLAND 

other  shore.  The  Silver  Birds  spread 
their  wings  and  as  before  rose  up  high  in 
the  heavens. 

They  sailed  on  and  on  till  they  saw  be- 
low them  their  mothers  seated  under  a 
big  elm  tree. 

These  same  mothers  were  suddenly 
much  surprised  to  find  the  branches  above 
them  filled  with  birds. 

"See!"  cried  Janie,  "a  flock  of  birds  like 
our  beautiful  Silver  Bird  has  settled  in 
this  tree." 

"Now  they  are  flying  down,  and — why 
they  aren't  birds,  they  are  our  precious 
dolls!" 

There  was  much  rejoicing  now  while 
all  tried  to  tell  their  adventures  at  once. 

137 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

The  mothers  were  amazed  to  hear  where 
the  dolls  had  been,  and  wanted  to  know 
all  about  this  unusual  ice  world,  while  the 
dolls  were  eager  to  know  how  the  mothers 
liked  the  Islands. 

"Did  you  see  Cinderella  and  her  won- 
derful pumpkin  coach,  and  the  Mother 
Goose  people?" 

"Did  the  three  blind  mice  run  after  you, 
and  were  the  tarts  good  that  the  Queen 
made?" 

Such  a  hubbub  was  never  heard  in  that 
meadow  before. 

Dinah  cried  in  disappointed  tones,  "I 
thought  you  had  silver  tails  and  golden 
hair  hanging  down  your  backs!" 

"We  did,  but  that's  only  when  we  go 

i38 


IN  WONDERLAND 

to  sea.     We're  all  going  to  be  that  way  as 
we  go  home!"  replied  Janie. 

"Oh!"  exclaimed  Dinah,  "me,  too4?  I 
never  had  golden  hair  in  all  my  life,  nor 
did  I  ever  feel  hair  on  my  back!" 

"Yes,  you  and  Topsy  both,"  said  the  lit- 
tle Queen.  "Mr.  Good  Kind  Whale  is 
even  now  waiting.  His  broad  back  is  the 
best  place  I  know  of  to  ride  on." 

"But  how  shall  we  get  our  shoe  boats 
home?  They,  too,  are  waiting  on  the 
beach.  We  can't  leave  them,  they  are 
such  fun!"  said  Rosabell  anxiously. 

"Oh,  we'll  tie  the  ropes  to  Mr.  Whale's 
tail.  We'll  make  a  fine  procession.  The 
steamers  will  all  flock  around  us  to  see 
what  we  are!" 

139 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

As  they  talked  they  wandered  along  to- 
ward the  shore,  and  presently  they  saw 
the  gleam  of  the  sea  and  Good  Kind 
Whale  patiently  awaiting  them. 

The  dolls  huddled  close  to  their  mothers 
as  the  critical  moment  had  now  arrived, 
and  Rosabell  whispered,  "How  does  it 
feel  to  be  a  mermaid?" 

"Just  like  so!"  gaily  cried  the  Queen, 
waving  her  wand,  and  there  they  were 
mermaids  climbing  on  to  the  whale's  back. 

Silver  Bird,  his  own  splendid  beautiful 
self,  perched  on  the  whales  head,  and 
with  the  fleet  of  shoe  boats  following  in 
their  wake,  away  they  went. 

Good  Kind  Whale  spouted  the  water 
high  above  their  heads,  and  it  showered 

140 


IN  WONDERLAND 

down  on  them  amid  shrieks  of  laughter. 

He  lashed  his  tail  so  hard  that  Dinah 
declared  had  the  water  been  cream  they 
would  probably  have  been  floating  about 
on  butter  pats.  As  it  was,  the  water 
foamed  up  about  them  till  it  seemed  as 
though  his  tail  must  be  made  of  soap. 

A  rollicking  time  they  had  on  this 
journey,  and  wonderful  things  did  they 
see! 

Good  Kind  Whale  took  them  down 
where  they  found  strange  creatures  sail- 
ing about  midst  tangles  of  seaweed  and 
sunken  boats. 

Here  they  saw,  also,  splendid  vessels 
beaten  to  pieces,  stranded  on  rocks,  treas- 
ure laden,  waiting  to  be  found. 

141 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

As  the  sun  went  down  into  the  sea,  he 
showed  them  the  great  ball  of  fire  sinking 
to  its  rest. 

"Why  don't  we  get  some  place  to 
sleep'?"  asked  Janie  suppressing  a  yawn. 

"That's  just  where  we  are  going  this  in- 
stant. See!"  And  he  landed  them  on  a 
beach  covered  with  sea  shells. 

"Every  little  mermaid  has  a  sea  shell 
all  its  own,"  sang  the  Queen. 

"Curl  up  in  them  and  go  to  sleep.  They 
are  the  dearest  little  pearly  lined  beds 
you  ever  slept  in." 

"But  won't  the  tide  come  in  and  wash 
us  out?" 

"I'll  see  that  it  doesn't,"  said  Good  Kind 
Whale.     And  so  he  did.     His  great  body 

142 


They   flapped  their  silvery  tails  and  brushed  their  golden   locks 


IN  WONDERLAND 

kept  back  the  tide  so  that  the  water  only 
lazily  lapped  the  shells,  rocking  the  mer- 
maids to  sleep  with  the  drowsiest  of  tunes. 

The  rosy  dawn  awakened  them,  and 
they  flapped  their  silvery  tails  while  they 
brushed  their  golden  locks  with  sea  moss. 

As  they  gobbled  up  the  tiny  sea-urchins 
with  which  the  beach  was  sprinkled,  Good 
Kind  Whale  cried: 

"Now  it's  time  to  go  home,  are  you 
ready?" 

"We  are,"  cried  one  and  all,  and  then 
Rosabell  summoned  courage  to  question 
him  about  the  leaf-coated  fairies. 

"Please  tell  us,  before  we  start,  Mr. 
Good  Kind  Whale,  did  the  Children  of 
Hamelin  find  their  mothers'?" 

143 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Indeed  they  did,  but  how  did  you  know 
about  them1"?"  he  asked  in  surprise. 

"Oh,  we  know  all  about  them.  We 
saw  them  all  turned  into  fairies,  and 
wrapped  in  their  leafy  coats. 

"And  we  saw  the  Pied  Piper!  What 
do  you  think  of  that1"?" 

"Well !  well !  Not  many  have  had  that 
great  privilege.  No  one  around  here  has 
ever  seen  the  Pied  Piper,  nor  the  Chil- 
dren, either,  since  they  followed  his  weird 
music  that  day.  He  could  charm  every- 
body and  everything  with  his  mysterious 
melodies. 

"Do  you  know,  if  he  came  along  here 
playing  his  pipe  we  would  all  follow  him. 
We  just  couldn't  help  it. 

144 


IN  WONDERLAND 

"A  strange  procession  there  would  be 
of  all  the  little  creatures  of  the  sea  trail- 
ing along  behind  us. 

"Let  us  hope  he  will  never  find  his  pipe 
if  he  should  come  out  of  his  cavern. 

"Now  I  want  to  tell  you  about  the  Chil- 
dren of  Hamelin. 

"When  we  arrived  at  their  village  a 
wonderful  sight  it  was  to  see  those  curled 
leaves  suddenly  transformed  into  chil- 
dren. You  know  how  from  the  cocoon 
suddenly  there  springs  forth  a  gorgeous 
butterfly"?  Well  it  was  something  the 
case  here. 

"The  little  brown-coated  things  were 
huddled  together  in  a  heap  on  the  shore, 
and  all  at  once  from  that  heap  there  sprang 

H5 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

a  lot  of  children  tumbling  over  one  another 
in  their  haste  to  find  their  mothers. 

"Such  rejoicing  it  would  be  hard  to  find 
anywhere  on  this  big  round  earth. 

"And  now  if  you  are  quite  ready  we 
will  go  on.  We  are  not  far  from  your 
beach,  and  if  I  am  not  sadly  mistaken, 
there  are  some  mothers  awaiting  you  who 
will  be  almost,  if  not  quite  as  pleased  to 
see  you." 

And  so  they  went  on  their  way,  feeling 
both  sorry  and  glad.  Sorry  that  these 
wonderful  times  were  at  an  end,  and  glad, 
too,  for  of  course  they  must  end  so  that 
new  times  could  begin. 

They  were  soon  landed  on  their  own 
little  beach,  and  as  they  thanked  Good 

146 


IN  WONDERLAND 

Kind  Whale,  they  cried  regretfully, 
"Won't  you  take  us  again  some  day?  It 
has  been  such  fun!" 

"It  will  be  my  greatest  pleasure,"  he  re- 
plied, and  with  a  most  polite  bow  he  left 
them. 

The  mermaids  were  now  transformed 
into  little  girls  and  Live  Dolls.  And  Sil- 
ver Bird  poised  himself  above  them  for  a 
moment  with  outspread  wings,  then  flap- 
ping them  vigorously,  he,  too,  left  thenu 
after  receiving  many  hearty  thanks  and 
farewell  messages. 

They  watched  him  till  he  became  a  mere 
speck  in  the  sky.  Then  with  a  sigh  of 
regret,  they  took  their  little  boats  and 
turned  to  go  to  their  homes. 

H7 


THE  LIVE  DOLLS 

"Why  do  you  sigh'?"  asked  the  Queen. 
"Haven't  you  had  a  good  time?" 

"So  good  that  we  do  not  want  to  have 
it  stop!"  cried  her  audience. 

"It  isn't  going  to  stop.  It's  going  on 
and  on. 

"Some  of  these  days  you  will  hear  a 
whirring,  and  see  a  silvery  flash  above 
your  heads,  then  Silver  Bird  will  appear. 

"Next  you  will  see  a  stream  of  water 
spouting  high  in  the  air,  and  you  will 
know  it  is  Good  Kind  Whale  coming 
your  way. 

"Then  suddenly  you  will  hear  the  sil- 
ver trumpet,  and  there  beside  you  I  will 
stand. 

"Oh,  there  are  a  great  many  things  in 
148 


IN  WONDERLAND 

store  for  you,  when  Good  Kind  Whale, 
Silver  Bird  and  I  meet  again.  And  now 
good-by  and  remember — you  know  I 
always  keep  my  promise." 

And  with  this  glad  message  ringing  in 
their  ears,  the  children  and  Live  Dolls 
hastened  home,  each  eager  to  tell  mother 
all  about  it. 


The  End 


COVER  BOOK  SYSTEM 


